Development at this year’s World Meetings Forum (WMF) painted Latin America as an increasingly sought-after destination for business events.
This year’s WMF differed from last year’s; it has grown into two shows with distinct remits and now shares its billing with the World Trade Show Forum (WTSF), aimed at producers of international exhibitions. As organiser Rafa Hernandez explained to CMW, the people that run exhibitions or trade shows don’t always deal with the hotels or suppliers that meeting planners use.
This dual offering is made possible because the beauty of Mexico as a destination for business events lies in its appeal both as a growing industrial powerhouse, and as a beautiful location for tourism in all areas. It draws both organisers of trade shows, and people creating the world’s leading business tourism events.
President Enrique Peña Nieto, who began a six-year term at the end of 2012, as with all emerging economies, is demonstrating a commitment to market regulation, reform and regulation of the financial sector, competition structural reforms, labour and education. There seems to be little focus on boosting the tourism industry.
In terms of sectors, energy and telecommunications are the key focus for Mexico, likely to remain the case until the mid-term congressional elections in July next year.
If there is any benefit to the tourism industry from Nieto’s governance, indirectly at least, it may come from his administration’s war on the drug cartels. Although there’s precious little presence of such criminal activity in the areas where congresses are likely to take place, the frequent image of gun crime in border cities and towns such as Juarez do much to tarnish Mexico’s image as a safe place to travel.
Shining a light on less exposed areas
But nobody is asking for a congress in Juarez, at least not yet. Riviera Maya, Cancun and similar coastal locations are as well known internationally as Mexico City. However, many of Mexico’s finest MICE destinations can be found in cities such as Los Cabos, Monterrey, Puebla, Puerto Vallarta, San Miguel de Allende. It’s not just the big players like Mexico and Brazil that are catching the spotlight.
The Mexican beach resort city of Puerto Vallarta, for example, recently became a ‘preferred member’ of MPI. It has been busy marketing itself and had the largest delegation at Meeting Planner’s International (MPI) annual World Education Congress.
Patricia Farias, CEO of Puerto Vallarta’s International Convention Center; executive director of Puerto Vallarta Convention Bureau Miguel Andres Hernandez; and Gustavo Rivas-Solis from the city’s PR agency, Latitude.
Farias told CMW that the city has the experience and the infrastructure, and is finally being recognised as a destination for tourists carrying briefcases, not just those wearing sandals. “We have it all, but we’re still the new kid on the block. A lot of people don’t know us,” she says. “We’re still educating the community to work for us in achieving this. When people look at us they say, why didn’t we see this before? And I say, well the politicians didn’t understand it. We were saying ‘hey guys, we’re doing real good.’ Not for nothing is “We are a part of your success’ our catch line.
The city, now approaching its centenary, was voted top city in Mexico, Central and South America in this year’s Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards readers’ survey, announced in New York on July 24th. The survey ranks of hotels, cities, islands, airlines, tour companies, spas, and more, based on readers’ ratings in a range of categories.
Puerto Vallarta lies in the Bay of Banderas, surrounded by the Sierra Madre mountain range. Its Marina, historic downtown and Zona Romantica contains more than 350 restaurants and provide visitors with plenty of opportunity for adventure and experiences both during and either side of business events.
Cancun too, with its numerous resorts and tens of thousands of hotel rooms, at familiar and global chains, is a very popular destination for conventions and incentives alike, and offers incredible variety for organisers.
Hotels such as the recently rebranded Hard Rock Hotel Cancun, formerly Aventura Palace and ongoing host of the World Meetings Forum, offers 16,408 square feet of meeting space, free Wi-Fi, top-flight audio-visual capabilities and even free calls to the US and Canada.
But having spent the morning gathered around a board-table, or taking notes in its plenary hall, swimming in coffee, a short hop up the coastal drag from the airport will land you in any number of afternoon activities. Xel Ha is one of the most popular of these, offering delegates a chance to cycle through a natural park to the source of a river, where they ditch the bikes, strap on a snorkel and grab a tyre, and let the river carry them down what feels like miles of mangrove scenery to their ultimate destination; an all inclusive bar at the mouth of the river.
For those looking to enjoy Cancun’s coast instead, board a wooden boat to Isla Contoy, home to protected wildlife including sea turtles and frigates, and based on my experience some of the hottest ceviche you’re likely to encounter. Thirty kilometres south of Isla Contoy is Isla Mujeres, where your guests can enjoy downtime on the beach, swim with dolphins and much else besides.
Riviera Maya and Cancun are of course famous for their nightlife (Spring Break, anyone?) and present viable options for delegates of all kinds. Daytime trips to historic Mayan sites such as Tulum and evening functions at natural park locations such as Xcaret are complemented but many more lurid – and likely less memorable – nighttime options such as Coco Bongo or Senor Frog’s.
Other Mexican locations have a more difficult proposition on their hands. Such as the awkwardly named State of Mexico, one of the 32 states that comprise the United Mexican States, Mexico’s official title. There is an obvious marketing issue here. The title carries an officious, and confusing connotation for most unfamiliar with Mexico.
On with the show
Rafa Hernandez, who is also CEO of Mexican publisher MasExpos, claims there’s more international discovery of Mexico’s MICE offering to come, having successfully seen the second edition of his event gather interest from associations and future partners.
A number of developments were particularly important to me this year, he explains. “Firstly we have formed an alliance with IMEX and Ray Bloom, the result of an enquiry to see how we can work together that resulted in a partnership.
“The first step we are taking together is creating the Future Leaders Forum for next year, presented by IMEX. It’s a huge step and the people we have spoken to have observed that. IMEX is a respected trade show and Ray Bloom is a respected businessman.”
Hernandez is now working with the Convention Industry Council (CIC) to evaluate WMF’s education content, so that its conferences can earn its participants the credits needed for Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) certification. “This is also a big step, because everyone who comes next year will gain value because not only all the content that we have, but because it will be part of the points you have to earn for certification,” he comments. “This is a huge step.”
The event will also go carbon neutral next year, with the help of a team in Costa Rica, home to a strong culture of green events. The 2014 event ended with the organiser creating fresh documentation to direct the way in which to ‘neutralise’ the event.
Gathering momentum
At the end of the day, WMF is just one event making the case for events in Latin America.
Global exhibition association UFI recently confirmed a Latin America chapter, and will celebrate its 81st annual congress in Bogota, Colombia, home to its incoming president, Andrés López Valderrama, for 2015. The International Conference and Convention Association’s current president Arnaldo Nardone hails from Uruguay, and the US-based International Association of Exhibitions and Events is also making broad strides south of the border.
While Mexico is the natural fit for some, WMF shows us, as it did last year, that Latin America is booming.
This was first published in issue 77 of CMW. Any comments? Email Zoe Vernor
