The Council of Tourism Diplomacy of Mexico celebrates its third ordinary session

The Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Miguel Torruco Marqués, led the Third Ordinary Session of the Council of Tourism Diplomacy (CDT), which was held virtually.

With the presence of José Alfonso Zegbe Camarena, on behalf of the Secretary of Foreign Relations, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón; of the members of the Council itself and of various actors in the tourism sector in Mexico, the head of Sectur pointed out that four months have passed since the last session of this body, which have been difficult and challenging for the tourism industry, and in the which has maintained a constant work in favor of the recovery of this branch of the economy.

He presented a report of the actions carried out in recent months with this objective and for its projection outside our borders, among which the efforts at the regional level within the American continent stand out, within the framework of the Pacific Alliance, with the realization of the Sixth Macro Tourism Round, from October 5 to 8, a virtual event that brought together 189 outbound and receptive tour operators from the four countries of this group: Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico, in 1,33 business meetings. It is estimated that the business generated amounted to 6.7 million dollars.

He indicated that the first Business Roundtable of the "Mundo Maya Organization" is also being worked on, at the initiative of Mexico, with the participation of the states of Chiapas, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatán; in addition to the countries of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which will take place at the end of January 2021.

“Along with these commercialization actions, we have maintained intense communication with the network of embassies and consulates of Mexico abroad, through the installation of the Permanent Tourism Observatory, a space for dialogue registered in the framework of the collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Relations in 2019, ”he said.

He specified that through this Observatory, both agencies constantly analyze the situation of the priority tourism markets of our country in the world, at the same time as informing about the actions carried out by the Government of Mexico in favor of health security, the promotion and reactivation of the sector.

Secretary Torruco Marqués highlighted that Mexico is part of the new "Committee in Charge of the Preparation of an International Code for the Protection of Tourists" and of the "Working Group to Reform the Legal Framework of the World Tourism Organization Regarding the Integration of its Affiliate Members ”, groups that were installed on October 30 and December 2 of this year, respectively.

He added that the recovery of the sector also involves the training of the value chain, the consolidation of tourism products and their projection at the international level.

In this vein, the Sectur's Directorate General for Tourism Product Innovation launched 243 product and service seminars in the Health, Cultural, Gastronomic, Romance, LGBT Plus, Nature and Meetings Tourism segments; While for the innovation of the tourism product at the local and regional level, multiple work tables were held with Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Mazatlán, Veracruz, Aguascalientes, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Michoacán and Jalisco, benefiting more than 450 entrepreneurs.

He explained that other actions focused on the recovery of the sector were the extraordinary virtual meeting of the Inter-American Tourism Commission (Citur), of the Organization of American States (OAS), held on August 14, which he convened in his capacity as President, and in which Mexico proposed and installed four working groups in order to face the crisis generated by Covid-19, carrying out a work en bloc.

He explained that the first group is focused on the standardization of bio-health travel and tourism protocols in the region; the second has been given the task of preparing the action plan to accelerate the recovery of the commercial aviation and cruise industries in the post-pandemic stage; the third is dedicated to the design of an agenda on climate change and sustainable tourism development; and the fourth, led by Mexico, is linked to the development of a 2050 Tourism Agenda for the Americas.

Likewise, on November 19 and 20, the Second Ordinary Meeting of Citur was held, where the leaders of the working groups presented their progress and roadmaps. The final documents will be delivered the first semester of next year.

The head of Sectur added that within these reactivation actions, the First Digital Tourism Tianguis took place on September 23 and 24, which was a complete success with 27,539 business appointments; 1,964 buyers from 1,185 companies from 45 countries, and 217 exhibitors from all the states of the republic, meaning a business of around one hundred million dollars. 

Similarly, on December 9 and 10, the Second Tianguis de Pueblos Mágicos was held, also in digital format, the results of which were released this afternoon.

Also, the Ministry of Tourism implemented the “Mexico Reborn Sustainable” strategy, which includes ten strategic projects that are being applied in tourist destinations, World Heritage sites, indigenous communities, Magical Towns and Protected Natural Areas.

Some of these projects are: “Roads of the Mexican Renaissance”, where the “Moctezuma Fish Route” stands out, which seeks to promote experiential education and in which tourists enjoy their biocultural environment. In its first edition, held in March of this year, it had the participation of 1,700 competitors from Canada, the United States, Spain, Germany, France and Mexico. The second edition is already being organized, which will be in 2021.

“In the same way, we are developing the“ Sustainable Tourism Strategy 2030 ”, through which Mexico is projected as a reference in tourism for the conservation of its biocultural heritage and for the practice of socially inclusive and economically fair tourism. . This transition towards green tourism, in which our country is a pioneer, is accompanied by a digital transition, essential for the recovery of the national tourism industry ”, he stated.

Finally, Secretary Torruco Marqués thanked the Secretary of Foreign Relations, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, for his permanent willingness to join forces with the Ministry of Tourism to fulfill the task that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has given them.

For his part, José Alfonso Zegbe Camarena, Executive Director of Strategy and Public Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, said that the Foreign Ministry has been working with the Ministry of Tourism from the perspective of the unit, understanding the tourism sector as one of the Public Diplomacy tools that are available.

He indicated that one of the joint actions that both agencies have carried out are the Permanent Tourism Observatories with the members of the Mexican representations abroad, which is the oldest career professionalism service available to our country, who are participating in the promotion and positioning abroad of a renewed image of Mexico.

“We have had meetings with twenty of these diplomatic representations, at the embassy level, and with sixty consulates, and this will continue at the same time throughout Latin America to position joint agreements in which the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that of Tourism they have gone hand in hand, "he said.

Juan Carlos Rivera Castellanos, Secretary of Tourism of Oaxaca and new president of the Union of Secretaries of Tourism of Mexico (Asetur), presented his work plan in this organization, which is based on three main axes: Tourist Reactivation; Tourist Security; and Promotion.

"Today more than ever the tourist activity requires coordinated efforts to safely and strategically reactivate the economy of those who make up the chain of services in the sector. We celebrate the continuity of these sessions, we appreciate your support and we will remain attentive to join this Council of Tourism Diplomacy ”, he said.

During the session, Emmanuel Rey, in charge of the programs of the Sectur International Affairs and Cooperation Unit, and Ángel Eduardo Santamaría Navarro, Tourism and Public Diplomacy coordinator at the SRE, presented the results of the Permanent Tourism Observatory; Alejandro Zúñiga Bernal, general director of the “Ángeles Verdes” Tourist Services Corporation, presented the Action Plan for the Strengthening of Road Tourism; and Marcos Achar, President of VisitMexico, reported on the results of the digital strategy for the reactivation of the tourism sector.

In addition, Juan José Fernández Carrillo, president of the Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels (AMHM), and Luis Barrios Sánchez, president of the National Association of Hotel Chains (ANCH), made the presentation of the panorama of the occupation of the hotel industry during this year; Cuitláhuac Gutiérrez, general director of the National Air Transport Chamber (Canaero), explained the situation of the commercial aviation industry; while Lourdes Berho Corona, coordinator of the "Products and Segments" Committee; Luis Barrios, coordinator of the “Emergencies and Crisis” Committee; and Jean Paul Pelletier, coordinator of the “Financing” Committee, gave their respective reports. 

Also participating in this meeting were the Undersecretary of Quality and Regulation of the Sectur, and general coordinator of the CDT, Humberto Hernández Haddad; the directors Simón Galante Zaga, president of the Fibra Hotel Board; Braulio Arzuaga Losada, president of the National Tourism Business Council (CNET); Julián Arroyo Corvera, president of the Mexican Association of Travel Agencies of Mexico City; José Luis Mier, from the National Chamber of the Restaurant and Seasoned Food Industry (Canirac); Cristina Alcayaga, president of the Caribbean Business Coordinating Council; Darío Flota Ocampo, general director of the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council; Ricardo Orozco, from Grupo Sol Mar; Roberto Zapata, from the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce and Tourist Services (Concanaco Servytur); and Aurelio Pérez Alonso,

As well as Eduardo Paniagua Morales, president of the Mexican Association of Travel Agencies (AMAV); Verena Knopp, president of the National Council of Exporters of Tourist Services (Conexstur); Jaime Salazar Figueroa, president of the Mexican Council of the Meetings Industry (Comir); Alejandra Reyes, from Aeroméxico; Paola Félix Díaz, general director of the Mexico City Mixed Fund for Tourism Promotion; Armando Bojórquez Patron, president of Viajes Bojórquez; José Chapur Zahoul, president of Grupo Palace Resorts; Felipe Ramírez Gutiérrez, from Grupo Vidanta; María del Carmen Morfín Herrera, president of the Pan-American Confederation of Hospitality, Gastronomy and Tourism Schools (Conpeht); and Rodrigo Esponda, general director of the Los Cabos Tourism Promotion Trust.