Tianguis Roundtable: Looking for More Than Sun and Sand (VIDEO)

 
Puerto Vallarta is benefitting from new U.K. flights and from being marketed jointly with Riviera Nayarit.
 
Puerto Vallarta is benefitting from new U.K. flights and from being marketed jointly with Riviera Nayarit.

All week we're running the highlights from our recent roundtable discussion at Tianguis, which drew top tour operators, hoteliers and the Mexico Tourism Board together to discuss trends, market dynamics and the country’s very bright future for tourism. We've already taken a look at Mexico's stellar travel growth, the rise in celebration travel, where the future is headed and an in-depth update on the Mexico Tourism Board's latest plans from Chief Marketing Officer Gerardo Llanes. Here, we look at Mexico's evolving offerings for visitors. 

Americans are changing their “fly and flop” travel habits, said Mexico Tourism Board Chief Marketing Officer Gerardo Llanes, referring to those seeking sun and sand. “The baby boomers are getting younger and younger, maybe not by age but by attitude and they’re going to cooking schools, language schools and arts-and-crafts schools. They do volunteer work while they’re traveling. So that’s a changing dynamic, too, and we’re very excited about it.

“For the first time, the MTB is launching a U.S. Hispanic campaign. That market is comprised of 50 million people, and Hispanics tend to travel more than the general market, and in bigger groups,” he said.

A recent highlight, in addition to the success of Cabo’s “Unstoppable” campaign, was a joint decision made two years ago by the destination and the individual states to invest to market Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit together. Over the past two years, that area has seen a growth of 18 percent to 20 percent.

 

Llanes sees Mexico’s visitors as part of the country’s future marketing plans as well. “I think that’s going to prepare us to be stronger for the future,” he said. “We’re trying to get more and more feedback, as well as the involvement of our partners in our marketing strategies. That type of involvement will continue to make us successful.”