In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Pablo Delgado, CEO for America at Mirai.
With what expectations and objectives have you come here to participate in the Cancún Travel Mart?
This fair is important because we have only been in Mexico for three years, so it allows us to meet a lot of people. There are many hotels that would be impossible to access without these fairs. It allows us to make contacts, maintain existing ties and have a much closer feeling for the market. Here you find out what the problems are in each location, you generate trust and of course brand exposure at the end of the day. For a relatively new company in Mexico, I think it is a must-attend event.
What is your vision on the Mexican market, for example?
It is a market full of opportunities. We see great potential with a repetition of the developments we made in Spain previously. The thing is that it has its deadlines, but if we have the necessary patience while customer confidence grows, I think it will be a very important market for us.
How do you see the Latin American market?
Latin America is very complex and diverse. Mexico is the largest market in terms of size and concentration for a company like us. Then you have the entire Caribbean and Colombia, and from there the rest of Latin America.
Because we have a commission-based model, we need large hotels. There are Latin American countries that are exciting, but with low seasonality and a curve that Mexico does not have. Mexico is quite consistent and has the highest rates because it is attached to the US as an issuing market.
So, in terms of business opportunity, Mexico is the starting point for a company like us. And from there, the rest of the Caribbean, although it is very diverse. Then there is Colombia, although we have clients in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru, but in the short term they are not a priority for growth. It seems easy, but the technology required is very large.
Which market are you growing the most in today?
Mexico, without a doubt.
How do you work to be at the forefront and offer solutions in a market as competitive as the technology market?
It is a question of DNA, of curiosity. In other words, the operation and continuity of the business is mandatory, but you have to have people in the company, from administration, sales, account management, marketing, product, etc. positions, who are curious and who, when they see something that catches their attention, pull the thread and start investigating.
It all starts with curiosity. We have tried to have people who drive innovation and reserve team hours for research, but it has never worked for us. And in the end what we try to use is the curious gene, because it can bring us value.
We are coming to the end of the season. How have you experienced 2024 globally and how do you see 2025?
I think 2024 is going to be a record year for the industry in general. It has also been a better year for us, so I am very happy in that sense. The challenge is to continue growing and there are a lot of threats along the way that we will see, but for now we are doing well. Our ambition is obviously to grow in double digits.
Are you planning to open new offices?
Not necessarily, but we want to practically double our size in Latin America in terms of clients and people. That is our goal.