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y-:r tr ,.^ kik qerp XXIV TIANGürS TURISTICO 1999 CONOCIENDO MÉXICO KNOWING MEXICO SECRETARIA CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS DE TURISMO SUPERIORES EN TURISMO CINE CENTRO CENTRO INTERNACIONAL ACAPULCO http://mexico-travei.com ^ y F ^ ^ L. q 1301 -79 • 001799 •n • CONOCIENDO MÉXICO }+.111 s r 1P+1 x + I ♦111=1 r<r XXIV TIANGUIS TURISTICO 1999 KNOWING MEXICO CONTENTS Pag. I.- INSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE 1 II.- PRESENTATIONS • Northern Mexico: No limits 14 • Wherer nature vacations: Sea of Cortés - Copper Canyon 20 • Pacific Beach: Fun, sport and business 24 • Colonial Treasure: A treasure forever 30 • Mundo Maya: An encounter with man, nature and time 37 • The heart of Mexico 44 1228 Tre-oh wirnrIrr in * AR• *r• XXIV TIANGUIS TURISTICO 1999 Mexico's Integral Tourist Policy: Our commitment vis-a-vis international competition Héctor Flores Santana Undersecretary of Tourism of Development Javier Vega Camargo Undersecretary of Tourism Promotion Vicente Gutiérrez Camposeco General Coordinator of the Tourist Services Unit Ministry of Tourism of Mexico Program Knowing Mexico MEXICO'S INTEGRAL TOURIST INDUSTRY POLICY: OUR COMMITMENT WITH REGARD TO INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOURIST INDUSTRY -Héctor Flores, Undersecretary of Tourism Development INTRODUCTION In the second half of the Eighties Mexico embarked unreservedly upon the internationalization of its economy, first by joining GATT and later culminating with the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and the United States. In this process virtually no sector of the Mexican economy has escaped the process to re-examine its strategies, to develop, adopt or import technologies, to revise its marketing patterns; and above all, to strive for greater efficiency and competitiveness. Our country's economic reform has also modified the country's dependence on petroleum revenue. Just 10 years ago petroleum amounted to 33% of all our exports, but in 1998 its share in the total amount was only 6.1%. Mexico is now one of the main exporters in the world, with an annual volume of more than 120 billion dollars. This capacity to generate revenue can only be accounted for by a policy deliberately designed to encourage exports, facilitate a free market, and, of course, seek to be more competitive and diversified in terms of products and markets. In this process tourism has played an increasingly important role, as reflected by the results in 1998, for example: .tj • Mexico received 19.8 million international tourists. • Our country's revenue amounted to 7.897 billion dollars, an amount 4.1% higher than 1997 levels. • The tourist industry raised 10% more foreign exchange than petroleum, and for the first time rose to become Mexico's second largest source of foreign exchange. • The balance of tourist trade showed a surplus of 3,629 billion dollars. This balance is equal to the deficit in the Balance of Trade and slightly more than half the Current Account deficit. • In an international context, Mexico ranks seventh in terms of the number of tourists, and fourteenth in terms of foreign exchange revenue. • The above shows Mexico's leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean, since no other nation in the hemisphere is among the top twenty places. The tourist industry is a high priority economic activity for our country. More than 6 million Mexicans work in and around this bountiful industry, and of these, 1.8 million hold direct jobs. In this knowledge, it is our responsibility to design and implement a comprehensive and participative long term promotion policy that will ensure the best utilization of the domestic and international tourist market. The purpose of this presentation is to describe the policy criteria, strategies, programs and instruments that the Mexican Government is putting in place, under the coordination of the Tourism Ministry, to reach the important objectives called for by the National Development Plan, and more precisely specified by the Tourist Industry Sector Development Plan. 1 Program Knowing Mexico I. CONDITIONS OF THE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT POLICY Two fundamental conditions are derived from the above considerations as prerequisites for the present administration's Tourist Industry Development Policy: Sustainability and Competitiveness. By sustainability we mean a framework that both covers and determines the dimension of the relation among three strategic factors: the community, the environment and investment. An integral conception of these three elements should be convincing enough to attract the community's participation, especially by implementing solid proposals that respect the natural environment in which actions are taken. Without this prerequisite the markets would be swift to react, since it is the market itself that demands this condition and that shows its preference for destinations which, by their respect for the environment, guarantee equal respect for visitors. After the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 the need for sustainability has emerged and been accepted as an indispensable factor for development. In the tourist industry it not only refers to the all-important environmental aspects, but also implies the promotion of the profitability of this sector and the inclusion of the communities that receive tourists so they can participate in the benefits of this economic activity. For this reason the various strategies, actions and instruments of the country's tourist industry policy depend on sustainability as one of the elements that guide decisions in regard to incentives and investment with a long term vision. There are two transcendental examples of concrete actions that represent significant progress in this area. • Last Saturday President Zedillo and 24 other Heads of State, at a meeting in the Dominican Republic, formalized the creation of the Caribbean Sustainable Tourist Travel Zone which included the commitment to carry out 137 specific tasks. • In the domestic sphere, in September Mexico will hold the first National Forum that will conclude with a consensus about a National Sustainable Strategy for Tourism, including specific destinations and regions. The other condition is: competitiveness. In order to be competitive in the tourist industry what is required is a consistent, conscious professional performance, not only to attract a larger and better market share, but, and more importantly, to provide total satisfaction to tourists, exceeding their expectations by means of an efficient performance. This will ensure a higher standard of living for all workers in the industry, and a more profitable return for investors who venture their capital in tourist projects. The Tourism Ministry initiated this process by holding the First National Forum on Tourism Competitiveness last November, which was attended by practically all sectors involved in this business. Who better than you, the professionals of this trade, can recognize the merits of these two conditions. The world's globalization has given us the opportunity to receive more travelers and to offer them products and services that are suited to their way of thinking and acting. The main thrust of our efforts is to make sure that in Mexico tourists will find a greater diversity of experiences to meet their expectations. II. PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES Based on the above we have identified three strategies whose integrated implementation is designed to strengthen our supply of tourism products, both for the intermediary and the consumer market. The first of these strategies seeks to consolidate destinations which have traditionally been major centers for visitors and service, but which now need to give added value to what tourists already know. The purpose of the second strategy is to diversify, by adding to existing offerings new options with ample capacity in order to appeal to market segments that are more attractive because of their volume and consumption patterns, or to create new options of products, in line with consumer trends and the characteristics of our products. 2 Program Knowing Mexico The third strategy is to develop more effective promotion and marketing schemes, based on an efficient network of distribution channels and points of sale, precisely in places where the type of public is found that is most receptive to our specific offers. Ill. TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN PROGRAMS AND INSTRUMENTS A basic need in any strategic effort aimed at promotion and provision of tourist services is product designed. This will serve to first create expectations that we must then fully live up to. Also necessary is the improvement and expansion of infrastructure to facilitate tourist activities. For this reason we have set in motion a number of programs and instruments that ensure the creation of the required supply of products and the necessary conditions for marketing. 1. Product Development • Product Development Technology Government actions directed to the development of an all-inclusive offer are based on the principle of observing two basic characteristics: the offer be different and also competitive. The Tourism Ministry has undertaken the task of promoting product development, within the framework of a philosophy of competitiveness. To this end a variety of instruments have been designed to build the "Mexico 2000 Tourism Competitiveness Program", with a view to the new millennium. This includes the design of specific technology, assisted by methods to facilitate technology transfer, so that we may all be educated in the development of competitive products and the procedure required to drive this