Interview With Eduardo Chaillo, Cmp
June 2007
Give Me 5
Regional Director, United States and Canada, Mexico Tourism Board
On the 14th of this month, the México Tourism Board will open a new marketing office in Washington, D.C., making a total of nine in North America. Eduardo Chaillo, CMP, who until now has directed the MTB’s North American promotional efforts from the board’s regional office in Chicago, will head up this new facility in our capital.
The Washington office, the first in over a decade, will have a particular focus on developing more meetings and conventions business. Currently, Mexico is garnering about 12.5 percent of gatherings organized by U.S. businesses. Mexico sees this as the glass half full, offering tremendous opportunity for growth.
WHAT IS THE AGENDA FOR THIS NEW OFFICE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.?
We are launching the strategic business unit in Washington, D.C. for all of North America. The ideal will be to focus on aligning the strategies of all our offices in North America in the way we relate with our leisure and meeting partners. Our office will be located in the Mexico Cultural Institute. This underscores that the important thing is that culture is part of our offering for meetings.
The new office will also have a commercial intelligence department, which will seek the most accurate information on tourism trends and statistics to continue to improve the way we promote Mexico in both the meetings and leisure markets. In Washington, D.C. there are many universities, as well as the Department of Commerce and TIA, all sources for research.
Additionally, we’ll work very closely with our embassy to put tourism on the agenda of the bilateral relationship with the U.S. I think it will be a good thing.
HOW WILL THIS MOVE SERVE MEETING PROFESSIONALS?
One of the main reasons to have this office in Washington, D.C. is that we have done a good job in the meetings and incentive markets, but not in the association market. It’s a little more difficult to approach in that most of these meetings take place in the U.S. What we’re trying to show them—and we’ll knock on the doors of every association—is that we’re almost like a domestic destination because we’re part of the North American Free Trade Association, that we have direct flights to Mexico in 3 hours, and that the value that we offer for your meeting is very good. Further, you have diversity and cultural richness available in Mexico that you can typically only find far from the U.S.
HOW CAN THIS OFFICE ASSIST MEETING PROFESSIONALS?
One of our departments in the new unit will focus only on corporate, incentive and association business, working with the eight offices in the U.S. and Canada.
Also in every office, we will have a CMP. I am pleased to tell you the deputy director in New York has obtained his CMP. And in Miami and Houston, both the directors of the offices have almost completed their CMPs.
Washington will operate as the strategic center, but each office has to be close to its market, because there are corporate business centers and meeting professionals all over North America.
WILL THE NEW OFFICE ADVISE IN THE TIMELY MOVEMENT OF EXHIBITS AND MATERIALS ACROSS THE BORDER?
We have a Mexico Convention Bureau in Mexico City. They are the ones who work with the advisory board, the customs. We will go to them, of course; we will be like an arm of the convention bureau to facilitate when a planner comes to us and has any type of problem. The intention is to make this year a celebration of the meetings market in Mexico.
WHAT CONVENTION FACILITIES DOES MEXICO NOW OFFER TO U.S. MEETING PROFESSIONALS?
We have 57 convention centers. Of course, the principal ones are in the large cities of Guadalajara, Cancun, Monterrey and Mexico City.
We also have emerging convention center destinations in Veracruz, Puebla, Chihuahua and León; those cities are really ready to receive middle-size conventions of up to 1,000 persons. We have to be aware of the balance between airlift, square-foot-area and hotel capacity. I’m almost sure Mérida, León, Puebla, Chihuahua and Veracruz are ready to go into the association international meeting market, but 1,000 would be the most they could handle. Whereas in Cancun, Monterrey or Guadalajara we can have 3,000 to 4,000 people.
Among the new projects is one in Acapulco. In early 2008, we will have a brand new facility in the Diamonte area near the airport. The Mundo Imperial will not only be a convention center, but also will emcompass a commercial center, hotel, golf course and expo facility.
WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU GET ASKED THE MOST AND HOW DO YOU ANSWER THEM?
One is, are there any safety issues for groups? We are working a lot on changing the perception and putting everything in context. Mexico is very safe, particularly in the inland areas. In the great cities like Mexico City, it’s the same as any crowded city in the world, but when a group is there, everybody takes care of the group.
Sometimes it’s a little more difficult to get into Mexico in terms of customs or immigration, so people ask a lot about how that works. When they ask, we demonstrate that it is very easy, almost like a domestic destination. The secretary of tourism is working very closely with other areas of the government because President Calderon has decided that tourism is very important. So the transportation and communications departments are involved, for example. Not only is the minister working with tourism issues but also with other members of the cabinet.
Another thing they ask is: Do we have the professionals to receive meetings? So we’re working a lot with certification; MPI has a great chapter in Mexico, and also the convention bureau is working on this. However, our people are our great asset. People in Mexico are very welcoming; they’re always trying to help. If you have a problem, they are trying to make it easier for you. Maybe they are not so professionally updated, but that empty space they can fill with a great attitude. This is a new market for us, we’re just learning.
WHAT THREE THINGS WOULD OUR READERS BE DELIGHTED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
That I love to sing popular Mexican music. Also, I have a daughter who is a champion in tennis; she’s 13 years old and I’m very proud of her. Finally, I am a passionate lover of Mexico and that’s why my work is such a wonderful thing for me to do. CH
