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Mexico

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Marketing and Sales Programs

Our marketing and sales programs invite Mexicans to see and experience Canada in a whole new way. Whether we launch a multimedia advertising campaign, stage a public relations event, or bring media and destination partners together to exchange stories and tourism experiences, our initiatives target three major audiences:

Consumer Read more > Close >

We focus on three key consumer groups, based on CTC’s Explorer Quotient™(EQ) types:

  • Authentic Experiencers savour unique experiences and seek to enrich themselves through encounters with local culture and history. They want to be fully immersed in travel experiences and tend to stay away from group tours and rigid plans.
  • Free Spirits have an insatiable need for travel that’s unique and exciting. Constant travellers, they enjoy being pampered and having things taken care of so they can relax and recharge.
  • Cultural History Buffs enjoy interacting with the locals to learn their customs and traditions. They prefer to let adventures unfold spontaneously, and are not driven by rigid schedules.

Our key consumers are wealthy travellers aged 30 to 40 years who enjoy making high-end trips to Canada and are free to travel any time of year.

 
Advertising and PR campaigns
The 2012 PR strategy targets the cities of high return: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. It focuses on sharing fantastic Canadian experiences with media representatives to encourage them to know more about the destination and to communicate this information to their audiences. All the editorial content is written with a simple, second-person approach that enables people to start living Canadian experiences even before they travel.

The 2012 Mexico consumer campaign encompasses online and print advertising plus a social-media component.

 

Social media
Mexico has an active presence on social-media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.

El Viajero

Each month, The Traveller (El Viajero) e-newsletter reaches 21,000 consumers and trade representatives in Mexico. It features new Canadian experiences, editorial content and links to regional destinations.

Canadian Specialist Program

The Canada Specialist Program(CSP) helps Mexican travel professionals learn about Canada’s distinct experiences by offering engaging training programs, interactive online resources and expert, inside knowledge. 
 
Participating travel agents are offered a range of information and support, including:

  • Certified training programs and testing
  • Conferences and seminars
  • Familiarization (FAM) trips
  • Tools and training manuals
  • Canada Specialist websites and e-newsletters.

Trade Shows

For details on these events and more, check out our Trade Shows & Events.

Travel Trade Read more > Close >

CTC-Mexico trade development focuses on the retail and wholesale aspects of selling travel. On the retail side, the in-market team establishes preferred-partner status with various retail travel agency consortia and initiates the Canada Specialist Program.

   
Canadian Specialist Program

The Canada Specialist Program (CSP) helps Mexican travel professionals learn about Canada’s distinct experiences by offering engaging training programs, interactive online resources and expert, inside knowledge. 
 
Participating travel agents are offered a range of information and support, including:

  • Certified training programs and testing
  • Conferences and seminars
  • Familiarization (FAM) trips
  • Tools and training manuals
  • Canada Specialist websites and e-newsletters.

Trade Shows

For details on these events and more, check out our Trade Shows & Events.

Trade familiarization trips

Several trade familiarization (FAM) trips throughout the year support CTC partners. FAM trips give Mexican tour operators a chance to experience new destinations for themselves, giving them more intimate knowledge of the country so they can better evoke the experience for their customers.

Media Read more > Close >

To capture the imagination of the Mexican media, CTC-Mexico assists with partnered press trips that send hundreds of media to Canadian destinations. We also provide and pitch targeted story ideas. The strategy includes an even greater focus on social and online media outlets.
 
GoMedia Mexico

To meet the increasing demand by Mexican media for information on Canadian tourism experiences, the CTC coordinates GoMedia Mexico. The annual event brings together tourism partners with local editors and journalists as well as radio and TV producers. This media “speed-dating” event provides local media with inspiration and instant story ideas.

 

Inbound travel to Canada from Mexico
  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Overnight trip to Canada (000's) 178.9 202.1 230.2 257.2 161.2 115.9
Year to year change 6.1% 13.0% 13.9% 11.7% -37.3% -28.1%
Receipts ($M) 239.7 273.8 300.7 363.9 231.4 158.0
Year to year change 3.3% 14.2% 9.8% 21.0% -36.4% -31.7%
Source: International Travel Survey, Statistics Canada.

Quick facts Read more > Close >

  • In 2010, Mexico’s economy rebounded favourably from a sharp decline in 2009, reporting GDP growth of 5.4%. The economy is expected to expand to 4% in 2011 and 4.5% in 2012. 
  • Mexican travel to Canada has been subdued since 2009 due to the H1N1 flu virus followed by the introduction of visa restrictions. While Canada reported declines in overnight trips from Mexico for the majority of 2010, the year ended on a positive note with three consecutive months of increases in arrivals.
  • In 2010, there were 15.3 million total outbound departures from Mexico, a moderate 1.4% increase over 2009. (Source: Tourism Economics – Tourism Decision Metrics, May 2010)
  • Mexican visitors spent $158 million during their visits of one or more nights in Canada, a 31.7% decline over 2009.
  • After experiencing consecutive quarterly declines in visitor arrivals for the past two years, 2010’s fourth quarter saw a 25.8% year-over-year increase in overnight arrivals.
  • In 2010, Mexican demand for business travel declined 1.1%, a far slower rate than leisure travel, which dropped 33.7% over 2009.
  • While visiting Canada, the majority of Mexican visitors stayed at a hotel (38.1%) or with friends and family (24.7%).
  • In 2010, British Columbia and Ontario were the most popular Canadian destinations among overnight Mexican visitors, despite declines in arrivals of 21% and 31.2% respectively over 2009.

Source: Statistics Canada, International Travel Survey, unless otherwise indicated.

 All Statistics Canada numbers are preliminary.

Current trends and market considerations Read more > Close >

Now that the economic situation has been improving worldwide and Mexicans regard the visa requirement as less of an obstacle, Mexican travel to Canada is growing again. Visitors are more sophisticated and interested in more upscale and exclusive experiences, including products that we have not promoted before, such as cruises.

Mexican arrivals to Canada are estimated to be up 10% in 2011 to 127,200 and receipts up 14% to $178 million. Arrivals from Mexico are forecasted to rise a further 13% in 2012.

Word-of-mouth is widely used by past Mexican travellers to Canada, with 95% citing they have recommended Canada as a travel destination.

Consideration levels are on par with 2007 (strongest levels).

Affordability, personal time and visas are the top three obstacles for Mexicans considering travel to Canada.

In September 2010, Air Canada added a new route from Mexico City to Vancouver, BC, to its roster. Aeromexico now has direct flights from Mexico City to Montréal, QC.

Contact our team Read more > Close >

Contact our team for more information.

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