MEXICO PLANS TO ATTRACT ASIAN MARKET Launches three year growth plan for China, Korea and Japan

Posted on 10/06/2016 | About Mexico

The Mexico Tourism Board has announced plans to develop a strategic growth effort to drive and develop tourism in China, Korea and Japan. Working closely with regional and local market partners, the programme will focus on expanding connectivity, strengthening industry partnerships, showcasing tourism products, increasing special promotions and consumer-targeting programs.

To date, Mexico’s overall tourism industry is growing faster than the global average. While the global industry grew at 5.3 percent as of April 2016 according to the World Tourism Organization, Mexico grew 8.7 percent and air arrivals are up 10.8 percent.
In a recent visit to the region, the CEO of the Mexico Tourism Board, Lourdes Berho, spoke to industry leaders and media in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo where she shared a vision for a three-year growth initiative built on developing culturally appealing tourism offerings based on commonalities between local markets and Mexico.
So far in 2016, Asia markets are growing at a rapid rate, representing a total overall growth of 22.3 percent (YTD through July).
“It’s important that we work together to develop the right products to attract visitors to Mexico,” states Berho. “Ancient civilizations, languages, architecture, traditions and unique gastronomy – plus modern and luxury offerings are all elements that bring Mexico and this important region together.”
Local Market Insights and Strategy
Japan is currently the leading market in Asia. Japanese visitors to Mexico grew steadily since 2013. To date, 2016 has seen an impressive increase of 14.3 percent compared to the same period in 2015. Key destinations for Japanese visitors include Mexico City, Cancun, Leon and Guanajuato. Currently, there are five weekly direct flights between Tokyo and Mexico City, plus access to more than 25 Mexican destinations through connections in the US or Canada.
Having set a goal of reaching 200,000 annual Japanese visitors by 2020, the Mexico Tourism Board plans to implement an institutional promotional programme as well as strengthen synergies with the industry and expand airline connectivity in Japan.
Korea has seen an increase of 28.5 percent in 2015 versus 2014; especially to Cancun, Riviera Maya, Mexico City and Monterrey. Visitors from Korea primarily arrive through air connections in the US and Canada, giving them access to 11 Mexican airports. By 2020, a goal has been set to welcome 250,000 Korean visitors to Mexico.
This will be accomplished by expanding connectivity (including direct flights), an expanded promotional campaign and industry partnerships as well as leveraging the increasingly large business and economic ties between Korea and Mexico.
Through the month of July this year, Mexico has welcomed more than 40,000 Chinese visitors - a 39 percent increase over 2015. The most important destinations for China include Mexico City, Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tijuana, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Airline connectivity between China and Mexico includes three direct flights per week between Shanghai and Mexico City, plus access to more than 25 Mexican destinations through connections in the US and Canada.
The Mexico Tourism Board plans to grow Chinese visitors to 250,000 a year by 2020 by executing strategies to simplify traveling to Mexico. They include continuing to increase direct flights, promoting the ease of immigration, increasing awareness about Mexico and key destinations, and expanding commercial partnerships with business and industry leaders.
Product Offerings
While Mexico has more than 14,400 kilometers of coastline and 450 internationally recognized beaches, its offering extends far beyond sun and beach. Mexico’s more than 3,000-year-old culture, one of which is still very much alive today (Mayan Culture), has borne more than 47,000 archeological sites across the country as well as 111 Magical Towns (Pueblos Mágicos), a designation given to locations with unique cultural, historical or natural beauty.
Mexico ranks sixth in the world and number one in Latin America in terms of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Mexican gastronomy was one of the first two cuisines to be named an “Intangible Cultural Heritage” by UNESCO in 2010.
Key offerings planned for promotion include Luxury, Golf, Weddings and Diving as well as Meetings and Events.
Mexico has always been known for its luxury tourism and as a destination where celebrities travel to relax. Global Virtuoso Luxury Travel Group named Mexico as one of the world’s luxury destinations. Professionals and enthusiast golfers can enjoy more than 175 world class courses designed by top golf designers including Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, and Jack Nicklaus.
Destination weddings continue to be a growing trend and couples, Mexico has unique ways to celebrate ranging from an underwater wedding to a traditional Mayan ceremony.
Growing the meetings and events industry is another immediate priority, and Mexico’s infrastructure, connectivity, and experiences brought more than 184 global events and 266,000 meetings in 2015. Rich in natural beauty, the country boasts the Revillagigedo Islands for diving – recently listed as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site and known as the Mexican Galapagos.
Berho said, “Mexico is also committed to biodiversity. Currently, Mexico represents just under one percent of the world’s land area, yet is home to an amazing 12 percent of the planet’s biodiversity. The country boasts 176 protected area and ranks second in the most number of natural ecosystems, fourth in most wildlife species and leads the world with the number of mammals.”
In December 2016, Cancun, Mexico will host the 13th International Convention on Biological Diversity (COP13) where 10,000 delegates will meet to negotiate and expand commitments that seek to sustain biodiversity, worldwide.
Drawing Global Attention
Mexico City has been garnering international attention and this year was recognized by The New York Times as the #1 spot on the “Best Places to Go in 2016” list; and was just named as one of the “Top 5 Travel Destinations of 2016 According to Google Searches”, as reported by Conde Nast Traveler.
This year, Mexico City will host Formula One Grand Prix for the second year in a row at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The track was redesigned for F1 and is the second fastest track in the world after Monza in Italy. Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2016 awards ceremony was also hosted in Mexico City in September and Mexico had nine restaurants honored on the 2016 Latin America 50 Best List.
“We are honored by the positive excitement surrounding Mexico City,” said Berho. “We want to leverage this momentum to continue to share the wide and diverse tourism attractions all of Mexico can offer travelers all over the world.”