Q & A with Ximena Caraza, Head of Tourism Promotion for Mexico in Spain and Chief Coordinator for Europe

Mexico’s Tourism Promotion Office in Spain has pieced together a staff of young talented professionals that went the extra mile in 2006 in an effort to turn Mexico into a more “visible travel destination” in that major outbound market. Luring visitors to a charming and vast country like Mexico is another top-priority goal for this office.

Q.- What new policies is Mexico carrying out as far as promotion in Spain in concerned?
A.- We’re focusing our job on trying to put together a more comprehensive promotional policy. We believe we need to develop a number of travel destinations within the country which are not that much known across Europe. We’re holding talks with tour operators in a bid to have them include those new circuits and products on their lists, places like Michoacan or the Tequila Trail in Jalisco, as well as so many other locations that Mexico has to offer and that are hardly ever found in their brochures. Our policy is kind of trying to launch some new travel destinations within Mexico, products that are probably better known in the U.S., in Canada and in Latin America, but not in Europe.

Q.- You’re launching a huge promotional, publicity and communication campaign. How has the market reacted to that blitz?
A.- The market’s response has been pretty good. We’ve worked with several tour operators and they tell us they’ve posted some 20 percent increase, and even up to a 60 percent growth. Let’s bear in mind that we left a complex, hard year behind as a result of hurricane Wilma in late 2005. So, we put our smart money in the streets and in trying to make Mexico a more visible destination. It’s not that we’ve forked over more budget money; we’ve rather funneled our resources into a number of actions that seemed more important to us.

Q.- Mexico’s Tourism Promotion Office in Spain is making a few changes in terms of staff and leadership. How much involved have you been in those changes and in implementing the new publicity policies?
A.- I’m in charge of a staff made up of young talented professionals. This team has certainly changed. It’s a new staff that came to this office with me and I think we’ve got a commitment here. There are people from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Veracruz and from other places across Mexico. I must say the whole staff is very enthusiastic and committed to the promotion of Mexico’s diversity in Spain.

Q.- What about the plans of Spanish hoteliers for 2007? Are there any new plans in the offing for Cancun or the Mayan Riviera?
A.- As far as Spanish tourism companies and hotel chains are concerned, HL is beefing up its investments and expansion plans. So is Pepe Hidalgo from Globalia, a company that’s trying its hand in Mexico for the first time. And it’s Fluxa, another company that’s going heavily into Mexico. And let’s not forget Barceló and Bahia Principe. There’re many Spanish groups investing in Mexico and that’s fine to us.

Q.- And in the case of Spanish airlines?
A.- Well, Air Madrid used to operate in Mexico before going belly up in December, but we’ve also got carriers like Air Europa and Air Asturias. On the other hand, Aeromexico’s flights and routes are on the rise and their planes are flying jam-packed. This is as far as regular-flight airlines are concerned because we also have charter flights operated by Pullmantur, Air Plus and other companies. I must say that flights between Spain and Mexico are increasing dramatically in recent years, up to a whopping 200 percent or so.