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AMDETUREditorial
To oUR READERs:
On behalf of the Board of Directors of AMDETUR, I'd like to
take this opportunity to thank all of the Associates who par-
ticipated in and supported our 25th Annual Convention, and very
especially to the Asociación de Clubes Vacacionales de Quintana
Roo (ACLUVAQ), an organization that was key to the success of our
event.
I would particularly like to mention the support we were given by
Patricia de la Peña, who is Chairman of the Board; Miriam Cortés,
Executive President of ACLUVAQ, and its Organizing Committee.
They took on the challenge of thinking outside the box, and hol-
ding the AMDETUR convention at a beach destination for the first
time since 1993.
This decision was not an easy one considering the economic
climate prevailing around the world, so I am highly satisfied to
report to all our Associates that we set a record for attendance at
this conference: the marketing and sales forum and conference
program attracted more than 500 executives from the vacation
property industry.
Also, through our coordination with ACLUVAQ, we were able
to bring in world-renowned presenters like Lyn Heward, Creative
Director of Cirque du Soleil; Karla Wheelock, climber of Mount
Everest; Jim Madrid, Founder and CEO of Entelechy Training &
Development, and Linda Clemons, president of Sisterpreneur. All
these inspiring individuals helped us put together an unpreceden-
ted program and contributed tremendous value to the event, both
professionally and personally.
AMDETUR now faces the challenge of deciding, together with
its members, whether it will become a traveling convention, and
thus help to promote Mexico's leading tourist destinations. 2012
will be one of great challenges and changes for our country, so we
must carefully weigh all the scenarios in order to choose the most
appropriate date and location. Our Board of Directors will take on
this task right away so that we can let you all know by the end of
the year, and begin preparing for this great event, which will mark
the 25th anniversary of our Association.
Autumn 11
Cordially,JUAn VELA RUIZ
CHAIRMAn
NoTITUR2
If you would like to receive the electronic version of Notitur
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BoARD of DIREcToRsChairman Juan Vela ruiz Grupo VelasExECutiVE PrEsidEnt José alfonso Bayón ríos amdetursECrEtary Gerardo rioseco Orihuela Fiesta americana Vacation ClubtrEasurEr Jaime márquez Vargas royal holidayCOunsElOrs José Carlos azcárraga andrade - Fiesta americana Vacation Club Carlos Berdegué - El Cid resorts ricardo montaudon Corry - rCi Kemil rizk - royal resorts marcos agostini - interval international Juan Carlos Barillas – sol meliá Vacation Club Jorge Pallas Cáceres - Promotora Cancún sunset Clubs Juan ignacio rodríguez - rCi robert louis Kistner - Grupo VilladirECtOr rosa de Jesús lugo dorantes
NoTITURChairman Juan Vela ruizExECutiVE PrEsidEnt José alfonso Bayón ríosPuBlishEr amdEtur EditOr aurora martínez V.GraPhiC dEsiGn reacción Gráfica s.a. de C.V. tel. 52(55) 5004-4176 art dirECtOr sergio Octavio Funes navarrete [email protected] amdEturamdEtur PhOtOGraPhEr José mata Cel. (04455) 1885 8581 www.pbase.com/ppmataEnGlish translatiOn Elizabeth Collins morrison [email protected] AssocIATIoNsPatricia de la Peña asociación de Clubes Vacacionales de Quintana roo, a.C.alejandro lemus mateos asociación de desarrolladores y Promotores turísticos de tiempo Compartido, a.C. (Puerto Vallarta)Jesús García torres asociación sudcaliforniana de desarrolladores de tiempo Compartido, a.C.Emmanuel Omaña Camín asociación de Promotores de Clubes Vacacionales del Estado de Guerrero, a.C.Fernando de leeuw santiago asociación de Clubes Vacacionales de Cozumel, a.C. Fernando madero irizar asociación de Clubes Vacacionales de sinaloa, a.C.héctor mauricio sánchez Ochoa asociación de desarrolladores turísticos de Colima, a.C. Claudio Balderrama González asociación de desarrolladores y Operadores turísticos de ixtapa y Zihuatanejo, a.C.
Partial or total reproduction of this magazine in any material or electronic way is strictly forbidden without a written authorization by amdEtur.
notitur is the official magazine of the asociación mexicana de desarrolladores turísticos, a.C. (amdetur) (mexican resort development association), published four times a year for its members and major official tourism organizations in mexico. notitur’s digital version in English is electronically distributed in several countries. all rights are reserved. this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher: Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or amdetur and no responsi-bility is accepted for lack of precisions in editorial or advertising content.Original magazine hard copies printed in mexico. amdetur: montecito 38, Piso 32, Ofics. 11 a 14, Col. nápoles, méxico 03810 d.F. Certificado de licitud de título no. 3856, de fecha 19 de abril de 1989. Certificado de licitud de Contenido de la Comisión Calificadora de Publicaciones y revistas ilustradas no. 3172 de fecha 19 de abril de 1989. número de Certificado de reserva otor-gado por el instituto nacional del derecho de autor, secretaría de Educación Pública, 04-2005-030817343600-102. nOtitur October-december 2011. e-mail: [email protected]
AMDETUR www.amdetur.org.mx
In this Issue:
Sections:
6 Tourism school, Universidad Anáhuac México Norte
For four decades, this prestigious tourism school has
been training leaders in the tourist industry through
its extensive array of academic courses, which
includes four bachelor's degrees, one master's degree
and various continuing education programs, and its
study plans are continually being updated to keep
pace with the needs of the tourism industry.
8 canadian consumers are on a Global spending spree
Canadian consumers purchased over 25% of all real
estate sold to foreigners in the US in 2010. It is a
market that keeps going on a global spending spree
that stands as a great opportunity for Mexico to
increase its recreational real estate sales.
10 A chat with … Fernando Olivera Rocha, Under Secretary of Tourism
Operations for the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR), talks
with us about various aspects of the industry and the
progress made toward regulatory improvement in the
areas of Facilitation, Verification, National Tourism
Registry, and Standards.
14 Environmental Risk Assessment by financial Institutions:
A step Toward sustainable Development
Given the activities and the environment in which tourist resorts are built in our country, it is clear that financial institutions must take the lead in implementing environmental management policies, and obliging companies that seek funding to comply fully with them.
14 Tourism in Mexico: facing the challenges of stronger Growth
In this issue, we present part two of BBVA Bancomer's article about the myths and realities surrounding Mexico's tourist industry. It also looks at some of the domestic and external factors that contributed to the difficulties faced by the tourist industry in past years; international competitiveness; and prospects for growth in 2011.
AMDETUR
3
25th Annual amdEtur convention
AMDETUR
This year’s AMDETUR’s convention was special in many respects. First, because
we were joined by friends and colleagues in celebrating the silver anniversary of the most important event in the tourist real-estate industry, as well as the 25th anniversary of the Association of Vacation Clubs of Quintana Roo (ACLUVAQ). And also, because over 750 attendees witnessed the new vigor AMDETUR has taken on in supporting the growth of this industry and of tourism in general, which is restructuring and changing every day.
The event consisted of three independent modules: • The“University-CompanyConnection”pro-
gram, in which students in the tourism sector learned about the importance and general overview of the vacation property industry, as well as its prospects for the future; the profile of vacation property buyers; the advantages of working in this industry; and the challenges facing the professionals who work in it.
• The “Americas Forum on Vacation ClubMarketing and Sales,” with an interestingprogram that included: sales myths and
realities; marketing strategies; and the inte-gration of hotel and vacation club opera-tions. This module also included renowned experts Linda Clemons, who spoke about body language and signals in sales; and Jim Madrid, who shared his seasoned per-spectives on change.
• The Convention itself, with the open-ing speech given by Mexican Minister of Tourism Gloria Guevara Manzo, who also tookpartinthepanelentitled“2011:TheYearofTourism,”totalkaboutthecurrentsituation in the industry and the collabora-tion between various levels of government and private enterprise.In other areas, Adriana Pérez Quesnel, at
that time general director of the national Tourism Promotion Fund (Fonatur) spoke about the directions taken by Mexico’s tour-ism development. Francisco Córdova Lira, Chairman of the Business Coordinating Council of the Caribbean, delivered a conference on “GreenEconomyandSocialSustainability.”Apanelon“The ImportanceofHumanCapitalin the Vacation Property Industry” was ledby experienced executives from the firms
Autumn
Royal Holiday, Grand Velas, Original Resorts and Royal Resorts. On the panel “Mexico:the Product, and How to Sell It” opinionswere shared by Rodolfo López negrete, associate director of the Tourism Promotion Council; Alfonso R. García Díaz, vice presi-dent of COnCAnACO-SERVYTUR; Fernando Torres Parraud, Regional Coordinator of the Southeast for ProMéxico; and Roberto Gaudelli, Chairman and CEO of Guadelli MCW.
This time, the conference was also enriched by the distinguished participation of Luis Pazos, professor of political economy and author of 40 books; and Juan Ramón de la Fuente, president of the UnESCO-based International Association of Universities; along with Lyn Heward, Creative Director of Cirque du Soleil, and Karla Wheelock, first Latin American woman to climb Mount Everest by the northern Route.
for more information, visit our web page at www.amdetur.org.mx, where you can find the available presenta-tions from the conferences that took place.
Opening of Expo AMDETUR 2011. Carlos Manual Joaquín González, Chairman of the House Tourism Commission; Juan Carlos González Hernández, Secretary of Tourism for Quintana Roo; Gloria Guevara Manzo, Mexican Minister of Tourism; Roberto Borge Angulo, Governor of Quintana Roo; and Juan Vela Ruiz, Chairman of AMDETUR.
ENTERpRIsE
Expense analysis in the Purchasing Department
NoTITUR4
In an increasingly competitive market, companies are always trying to become more profitable by boosting their revenues and/or lowering their costs and expenses. But it is hard for an organization to achieve significant savings without the right data,
methodologies, tools and personnel to head up the cost-cutting program.
By MIGUEL oRTEGA
What is Expense Analysis?This is a process aimed at reducing the amount of money a company pays out in
the purchase of goods or services within the organization. Generally speaking, this analysis uses various sources of data associated with purchases and hiring by the com-pany, cleans up the discrepancies, classifies them into categories to make them easier to analyze, and finally comes up with conclusions on improvement.Through this process, organizations seek to answer the following questions:• Whatarewespendingon?• Howmuchandhowoftenarewebuying?• Whoisdoingthebuying?• Fromwhomarewebuying?• Arewebuyingwhattheorganizationreallyneeds?• Whatpurchasesorhiringscanbeconsolidated?• Whatvolumesofpurchasescanbereduced?• Whattypeofarticlesorservicesthatweconsumecanbestandardized?
5
ENTERpRIsE
Autumn
Expense analysis in the Purchasing Department
How does Expense Analysis help save money?• Bycuttingdownon“Maverick”spending. This is
what we call the payment of higher prices to acquire premium or high fashion articles, or standard articles that were poorly negotiated. Usually, this type of problem comes up in companies where purchases are made directly by the functional areas and not a centralized procurement department; or in organiza-tions with poor purchasing policies or inadequate procedures for determining needs.
• Savingsfromeconomiesofscale. A company may be buying the same good or service from different vendors. This makes the process more complex, less efficient and more costly, and does not take advan-tage of purchase volume. The Expense Analysis focus can help to consolidate purchases among a smaller number of vendors, so the company can negotiate better prices, discounts, response times, etc.
• Savings from process efficiency. Automating the Expense Analysis process, as well as purchases and payments, can tremendously improve efficiency com-pared to manual processing (it is estimated that up to 70 percent of personnel time may be going to pro-cess transactions, instead of controlling and analyzing them for better decision-making. Process efficiencies will be reflected in the response time it takes to obtain a good or service and generate the payment to the vendor, as well as the number of individuals required to process a purchase or hiring request.
pRoBLEMs UsUALLy foUND WHEN BEGINNING ExpENsE ANALysIs• Lackofavailabledataonpurchases. It is com-
mon for companies not to have information on their purchases. It may be incomplete, out of date, or not detailed enough to make prompt and effec-tive decisions.
• Multiplesourcesofinformation. Expense infor-mation is handled in different areas of the organiza-tion, and the different sources may differ: accounts receivable, accounting, purchases, systems, etc.
• Inconsistency invendornames.The same ven-dor may be referred to in several ways in the same system, due to the use of spaces, punctuation, spell-ing, etc.
• Inconsistency inthenamesofgoodsandser-vices acquired. The same good or service may be referred to in several ways in the same system, due to the use of spaces, punctuation, spelling, etc. There are classification standards that can be used to avoid this type of problem, for example the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), Universal Standard Products and Services Classification (UnSPSC), etc.
• Lackof resources or the appropriateprofile. Expense Analysis normally falls to the same person who handles purchasing, who normally spends a lot of time processing routine transactions, or in personnel unfamiliar with the operation, so the results obtained are not always what is expected or hoped.
miguel Ortega is manager of Process improvement Consultancy Practice at KPmG méxico.
he has more than 10 years of experience advising national and international organizations
in various industries, like retailing, consumer products, manufacturing, financial services,
education, health, construction, real estate, telecommunications and government. his spe-
cialty is process re-engineering in the value chain and designing shared service centers for
organizations’ support processes. With regard to supply chains, he has worked with various
industries in reducing inventory levels and process lead times, raising levels of customer ser-
vice, and introducing internal inventory control measures, as well as aligning and optimizing
the organizational structures associated with those functions.
Visit: www.delineandoestrategias.com
ConclusionsThe Expense Analysis focus is a strategic one, and companies who have introduced it are generally able to: a) reduce their current spending by more than 20 percent; b) obtain a return of between 10 and 100 percent on investment (ROI) on the project to which the expense reductions are applied; c) improve visibility and control over expenses in the organization; d) generate reliable information; and e) increase efficiency by consolidating purchases and rationalizing categories.
compile
Data on expense relating to: • AP/GL• Corporate cards• Payment to vendors• Contracts, etc.
Relate
Associate expenses:• Vendors• Categories• Purchasing groups, etc.
clean
Standardize:• Vendor names• Category names• Product names• Fields to fill, etc.
classify
• Transactions• Categories• Vendors
Analyze
Category managementConsolidate purchases and vendors
Source: KPMG en México, 2011
NoTITUR6
INDUsTRy
Tourism school, Universidad Anáhuac México Norte
By fRANcIsco MADRID fLoREs
INTERNATIoNAL AcADEMIc LEADERsHIp IN ToURIsM
The complexities of managing tourism businesses and destinations require top-level professional and human training, to keep up with the changing chal-lenges and needs of a vibrant industry. In full awareness of this challenge, the Tourism School of the Universidad Anáhuac México norte has been training leaders for the tourism industry for four decades.
Its current director is Francisco Madrid Flores, a renowned expert in the tourism industry, who shared with nOTITUR why the Tourism School he heads is one of the best in the country.
First, it is important to know that this School has an extensive array of academic courses in tourism, and offers four bachelor's degrees, one master's degree and various continuing education programs. Its study plans are continually being updated to keep pace with the needs of the tourism industry, generating and develop-ing in its students skills that turn them into enterprising leaders, capable of growing and directing sustainable tourism companies, services and products.
Universidad Anáhuac has many agreements with uni-versities and companies of other countries, which enrich university life; its professors are all highly trained, and its students have the opportunity to participate in inter-national academic exchanges and activities with profes-sors and guests form all over the world. Its educational model allows students to create a personalized degree plan in which they can choose their subject matters, class hours and course load, and enjoy free mobility in the universities of the Anáhuac network in Mexico.
As part of their professional training, the students of the Tourism School of Universidad Anáhuac participate in supervised practical work that are true professional internships in the tourism industry, and may apply their knowledge and contribute ideas for improving the man-agement of hotels, restaurants and other organizations.
Anahuac's interns are well received at establishments in the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Punta Mita, Los Cabos,
7Autumn
INDUsTRy
Mexico City, and other domestic destinations; but they have also been recognized for their work in countries like France, England, Spain, Thailand, Australia, South Africa and United States (Orlando, new York, and Aspen). Our students attend high-level con-gresses, seminars and conferences and conduct academic trips in Mexico and abroad to stay abreast of activity in the tourism industry.
ExcELLENcE IN ToURIsM EDUcATIoNAnother aspect worth highlighting is that Universidad Anáhuac has the best infra-
structure for tourism education, made of up spacious and modern laboratories of lodg-ing, beverages and wine-tasting. It also has specialized software for hotel management and operation, restaurants, travel agencies and airline reservation systems.
Universidad Anáhuac has another competitive advantage: it is home in Mexico to the Cordon Bleu, the most prestigious culinary school in the world, where students take cooking courses in highly-equipped laboratory kitchens, under the guidance of internationally experienced chefs. This strategic alliance also allows graduates from all free programs to earn a Bachelor's Degree, along with a certification that is offi-cially valid in Mexico, and students can also obtain a dual degree with Queensland University of Australia.
Another interesting fact about these alliances is that the Tourism School of Universidad Anáhuac is the only school that is a collaborating partner with the national Tourism Business Council (CnET), which resulted in the creation of a CnET-Anáhuac Research Chair. This department currently generates two regular publications with statistical information for decision-making in this industry. It is also the only tour-ist teaching institution in Mexico that is a member of the World Tourism Organization, and which participates actively in the launch of the UnWTO Knowledge network.
In fact, it is the first school in Mexico to have obtained the Tourism Education Quality (TedQual) certification in 2005 from the THEMIS Foundation of the World Tourism Organization, and it is currently the only one in the country to have three tourism education programs certified internationally.
TedQual Certification is the only quality assurance system in the world for tourism education programs, and it guarantees not only the quality of the teaching received at the Universidad Anáhuac Tourism School, but also the focus of its academics on continuous improvement of their work.
Finally, a big part of Universidad Anáhuac’s educational philosophy is the develop-ment of genuine, pro-active leadership, because aside from its emphasis on academic excellence, the University offers its students full involvement in university life through a program that encourages values and gives them an opportunity to participate in sports, artistic, cultural and volunteer activities.
fRANcIsco MADRID fLoREs DIREcToR of THE ToURIsM scHooL of UNIvERsIDAD ANáHUAc MéxIco NoRTEFrancisco madrid Flores has a Bachelor’s degree
in tourism, with a major in tourism Planning and
development from the higher school of tourism of
the national Polytechnic institute; specialization
courses in market research and tourism Planning
at the Organization of american states; master’s
degree in administration from the tecnológico de
monterrey; diploma in advanced tourism studies from
the universidad antonio de nebrija in madrid; and a
doctorate in tourism from the same university.
For 23 years he worked in the mexican ministry of
tourism, holding various posts, among them director
of tourism training, under secretary of Planning and
under secretary of Operations. he served for two
years as regional representative for the americas to
the u.n. World tourism Organization (unWtO), and for
six years chaired the unWtO Committee on market
studies. he is a founding member of the knowledge
network of that specialized agency of the united
nations.
he has given more than 320 conferences in more than
20 countries. he was invited by the ministry of tourism
to join the steering Committee on Follow-up of the
national tourism agreement. he is currently director
of the tourism school of universidad anáhuac méxico
norte and professor of post-graduate courses in the
higher school of tourism of the national Polytechnic
institute.
you can follow his twitter account at @fcomadrid.
more information:
Phone: 5627-0210 ext. 8201 Or 5328-8012,
toll-free within mexico: 01-800-508-9800
www.anahuac.mx/turismo
Best academic offering in tourism • Bachelor’s Degree in Gastronomy• Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism Administration• Bachelor’s Degree in International Hotel
Management• Bachelor’s Degree in Restaurant Management• Masters’ Degree in Upper-Level Hotel and
Restaurant Management• Ongoing education: courses, workshops,
diplomas and specialized consultancy
Academic Excellence in Tourism“To earn a degree in the field of tourism and the hospitality industry is a good option; choosing to study at Universidad Anáhuac is more than that, it is the best option.” Francisco Madrid Flores.
8
INDUsTRy
canadian consumers Are on A Global spending spreeBy ross Perlmutter
So how can your company benefit from this tsunami of Canadian consumer-
ism?Beforewegettothat,itisimportantfor you to understand why we’re currently armed with such purchasing power in the first place.
While several countries are still desper-ately trying to find their economic footing, Canada was the very last country to enter the recession and the very first to exit it. For the past decade, Canada has consistently been the best producing economy of the entire G8, (also integrated by France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States), and we’ve always managed both our government and household debt extremely well. We’re home to a wealth of natural resources and, in fact, we have more oil in the ground in one province (Alberta) than in all of Saudi Arabia. All of this has served to elevate Canada on the global economic stage, and our economy is solid.
Byfar,oneofthebiggest“gamechangers”in terms of the Canadian consumer has been the recent strength of the Canadian Dollar, especially in relation to the US Dollar. As our dollar hovers above (or close to) par with the US, a combination of pent up consumer demand and increased purchasing power has resulted in a veritable flood of currency south-ward; money used to acquire everything from household items to vacations to luxury goods, including several billion dollars worth of recre-ational and investment real estate.
cANADIANs AND MExIcoCanadians generally have a sophisticated
understanding of Mexico as a tourist destina-tion, and we continue to vacation there in droves. Canada is currently the second most important tourist market for Mexico, and in 2010, they represented 14.6% of all visitors. According to Mexican government figures, from 2005 to 2009, the number of Canadian
tourist visits has doubled, reaching 1,222,739 visits. In contrast, visits from the U.S. fell from 62.9% of the market to 61% in 2010.
Still, Canadians remain extremely cautious about purchasing real estate and shared own-ership products in Mexico. Many have serious questions about the consumer rights and protections available to them, and as such, they are much more likely to purchase luxury recreational properties and products in the US because they perceive that their purchases and consumer rights are far better protected than in Mexico.
HoW To sELL To cANADIANsSo how can your resort capitalize on the
affluentCanadiantouristmarket?Here’swhatyou need to know….
1. Give them space!Canadian consumers are generally skepti-
cal, cautious and reluctant to purchase, espe-
if you’re involved in the mexican resort and recreational real estate market, you already know that Canadians are cur-
rently travelling, spending and purchasing real estate products in record numbers. in fact, Canadians purchased over
25% of all of the real estate sold to foreigners in the us in 2010! When you consider that Canada is home to only 34.5
million people - just 4 times the population of mexico City and approximately one tenth of the population of the entire
united states – these sales figures are truly impressive.
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9Autumn
INDUsTRy
cially when buying outside of our borders. However, despite being extremely cautious and guarded, they respond very well to mutu-al respect; the more respect and space you can give them, the more receptive and open they will be to your offering. In addition, they’ll respect your professionalism and reward you with their trust and business.
2. personal safety is criticalWhile Canadians might tend to walk and
talk just like Americans, it’s important to know that we’re very different, especially when it comes to personal safety. Unfortunately, our media provides some conflicting news about Mexico and this is why it is so important that you address these issues head on. It’s not enough that you tell them that the violence is limited to a certain area; they need to know that they will always be safe, that the resort is fully secured and that no harm will ever come to their families. If there is any doubt in this regard, it is possible that you will lose the sale.
3. Be honest with themIt hasbeen said that “honesty is thebest
policy”,andthatisespeciallytruewhenyou’redealing with Canadians. Very simply, we’re intelligent consumers, and one doubt can eas-ily negate hours of sales labor. Don’t be afraid to discuss construction plans, bad press, nega-tive reviews or anything else because the worst thing you can do is to allow them to discover this info on their own.
4. Become a Member of cRDAWhether you realize it or not, your
Canadian prospects already regularly call our offices before, during and after you’ve con-tacted them. They call us from their homes to inquire about your mini-vac offers, they call us from their hotel rooms for advice just prior to their tour, and many of them call us after-wards to find out how to rescind the purchase they’ve just made. This is the reason why I encourage you to become a member of CRDA.
While I realize that this may (understand-ably) sound self-serving, becoming a Member of CRDA may be one of the most important things you can do in order to expand the sales of your products to the Canadian mar-
ket. It is important for me to affirm that I’m not simply saying this in order to sell you a CRDA Membership. Within the past year alone, we’ve affiliated US resort developers such as Hilton Grand Vacations, Starwood and Diamond Resorts, and in 2010, we rescued over 70 of their deals that were definitely headed for rescission! This is why even if you only get a few Canadian prospects per year, you should seriously consider becoming a CRDA Member.
5. partner with canadian companiesWhether your resort tends to do all of its
administration in house or not, you should seriously consider partnering with a company that has a Canadian footprint. Canadians tend to protect their credit ratings like they protect their children, and even if they do not have any fear of Mexican credit and collection processes,you’re“downthere”andwe’re“uphere”andyou’llhavefargreatersuccesswithyour receivables and collections if you contract a Canadian company to assist you.
ross Perlmutter is currently the President/CEO
of the Canadian resort development association
(Crda), the non-profit entity entrusted with over-
seeing the shared ownership industry in Canada.
Prior to assuming the Crda position in 2007, ross
spent 17 years in the shared ownership industry
as a successful marketing and communications
consultant specializing in the development of
marketing infrastructures, communications and
collateral materials for resort properties and leisure
products. most recently, he co-developed (and
served as the VP of marketing) for a 172-unit
resort located in the Canadian rockies.
ross previously spent 16 successful years in
the corporate side of the entertainment industry
and is the recipient of multiple marketing awards,
including “Canadian marketer of the year”. he is
often called upon to share his expertise at con-
ferences and other industry events, and he is a
regular contributor to several industry publications.
If you would like more info about cRDA (and more importantly, how we can assist you with selling to canadians) please email us at [email protected] or call us at 416-960-4930!
NoTITUR10
A cHAT WITH …
Fernando Olivera
Under Secretary of Tourism Operations - SECTUR
Over the course of his career in the tourism industry, Fernando Olivera has held
important positions in both the private sector and in government, an experience
that today gives him a thorough knowledge of the needs and challenges that
businesses face and the strategies and mechanisms that guide the actions of
government agencies.
his extensive experience became an opportunity to create better relations, define
more consistent objectives for specific areas and time periods, and make further
progress in the areas assigned to him, through a concerted effort and clear
commitment by both sectors.
In this section, Olivera discusses some of the main issues involved in the tourist real-
estate industry, which he has addressed as Under Secretary of Tourism Operations for the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR).Among sEcTUR's Regional programs, what actions have been taken to promote beach destinations?
The way to promote a destination is by strengthening and consolidating its competitive capacity by improving local infrastructure and services and retrofitting all its facilities. This is done by allocating funding -through Resource Reassignment and Coordination Agreements- to urban improvement projects like underground cabling or remodeling of historic buildings; and in tourist equipment like signage, tourist information modules, artistic lighting, boarding facilities, and such.
In 2011, SECTUR funded 37 projects in the "sun and beach" category, totaling close to $368 million dollars, which is part of the total investment SECTUR allocated for developing public investment projects. This amount was made up of 1.74 billion pesos in federal con-tributions, which with the support of state and municipal governments grew to 3.45 billion pesos. The purpose of the total figure was to support 284 tourist projects. 43 percent of the investment was used to diversify the country's tourism offering, and 21 percent to fortify sun and beach destinations.What new goals has sEcTUR set to encourage the development of tour-ist products?
As part of its commitment to this national Tourism Year, and to Mexico's Tourist national Agenda, SECTUR is designing some major events that serve new market segments, and which can help diversify Mexico's traditional offering. These include Conference Tourism, Cultural Tourism, nature Tourism -where products are being designed like sustainable lodging and natural wildlife sanctuaries in Mexico- and also Adventure Tourism, with the World Adventure Tourism Summit scheduled for October 17-20 of this year.
To attend special tourism segments -as estab-lished in the national Tourism Agreement- SECTUR will also take specific action in areas like cruise travel; the development of the gastronomic inventory in Mexico and of the Nation's 41 “Pueblos Mágicos” products; andthe development of tourist products in cities that are classified as World Heritage sites.
11Autumn
fernando olivera Rocha has a degree
in tourist Enterprise management from
universidad anáhuac, and also a master's
degree in Commercial management and
international marketing from the instituto de
Empresa in madrid, spain.
From 2000 to 2003, he was director of
mexico's tourism Promotion Council in spain
and Portugal, and Chairman of the association
of Foreign tourism Offices in spain, as well as
vice president of the mexican association of
travel agencies. in the private sector he has
headed companies like howard Johnson hotels
and days inn hotels, and in sECtur he had
been serving as General director of tourist
Product development before taking his current
position.
among the duties he performs today as under
secretary of tourism Operations is to support
the development, operating and promotion of
tourist services through the evaluation of pro-
grams that can make mexico's tourism industry
sustainable and competitive.
What progress has been made toward the Regulatory Improvement program?
First, in the area of Facilitation, I'm pleased to report that we are working together with the Federal Regulatory Improvement Commission (COFEMER) and with state and municipal gov-ernments to encourage private and social invest-ment in a project called Ventanillas de SARE Turístico. SARE are the initials in Spanish for Fast-Track Company Startup, and this project involves special offices to serve investors who want to open a small or mid-sized business. The advantage of these offices is that entrepreneurs can set up the business in as little as 72 hours, with no red tape, simplifying the business startup procedure.
I am also proud to share with your read-ers that SECTUR has an Executive Tourism Committee, which is made up of representatives from various federal agencies and institutions, and will be key to making regulatory progress in the area of tourism in the future. Its basic purpose is to facilitate communication and address issues shared by two or more agencies, which might, for example, be useful in promot-ing sports fishing, bringing more cruise trips to Mexico, or providing the regulatory facilities for the temporary import of items owned by foreign tourists, among others.
In the area of Verification, because this pro-cess is fundamental for the security and quality of tourist services, in 2010 we conducted 475 vis-its in order to check on compliance with Official Mexican Standards applicable to the industry.
Another area we have worked on is the national Tourism Registry (RnT), where we are modernizing structures and determining how to make the system accessible and effi-cient, to make it easier for suppliers of tourist services to register, and generate a variety of information reports once the Regulatory Law is in place and the catalog of tourist service providers has been defined.
This modernization will involve the fol-lowing:• Creating a national catalog of Tourist
Service Suppliers (TSS).• De-centralization operation of the RNT to
state, municipal and Mexico City govern-ments, with SECTUR handling only the coordination.
• Guaranteeingdisseminationof andaccessto information relating to the RnT.
• Ensure that TSS take advantageof all thebenefits accorded by law.
• IssueacertificatetoTSSthatstatesthattheyare registered in the RnT.
• DraftregulationsontheRNTregistrypro-cess (specifying what information tourist service supplies must provide to SECTUR, until the certificate is issued).
In the area of Standards, and taking advan-tage of the creation of a new General Tourism Law, the Standards Consulting Committee coor-dinated by SECTUR has taken on the task of going over and updating Official Mexican Standards, and identifying tourist activities that require a specific set of standards. For example, in May we concluded our review of the nOM-01 standard regarding numbered forms for complaints and suggestions, and are now revis-ing nOM-05 on Snorkeling Operators. We will do the same thing with the operating rules of the Committee itself in order to expedite the creation and updating of standards in the tour-ist industry.
As a complement, we have organized national and international workshops on stan-dards in order to share and obtain information on the use of legal instruments that make tour-ist products and services safer, and ensure the provision of quality services.
With your private-sector experience, do you have any remarks for the tourist real estate industry?
I am confident that this industry is on the path to continuing expansion. We are a coun-try with 630,000 hotel rooms, and we're not even close to that figure in the development of vacation property. I think we're heading for a second-generation boost, after the growth we saw starting in the 1980s, plus today we're see-ing an expansion of the domestic market. This is clearly a virtuous business model, because it gives both vacation property owners and devel-opers, and the resorts themselves, confidence that the demand for tourist services will be there.
Perhaps one of the biggest areas of oppor-tunities where we should focus our attention is the leasing of informal space in order to handle it in a general and fair way as vacation property rentals. This is a phenomenon we have seen in other destinations, like Benidorm in Spain, where it has allowed this business of second resi-dences to compete in a major way, but with an unfair advantage over traditionally established tourist businesses. I think this is one thing we might consider to continue the healthy growth of this industry.
A cHAT WITH …
AMDETUR
NoTITUR14
A sTEp ToWARD sUsTAINABLE DEvELopMENT
NoTITUR14
a stEP tOWard sustainaBlE dEVElOPmEnt.
ENvIRoNMENTAL RIsK AssEssMENT By fINANcIAL INsTITUTIoNs:
By ALBERTo sILvA
AMDETUR
15Autumn 15
A sTEp ToWARD sUsTAINABLE DEvELopMENT
a stEP tOWard sustainaBlE dEVElOPmEnt.
in today's world, economic growth and the new technologies and
products can sometimes lead to environmental risks. Environmental
risks must be assessed before the development of a new project in
order to determine how they should be properly mitigated or man-
aged. this is an important area of what is called “risk management”.
Financial institutions must closely analyze the development of any
activity or project that may cause a direct or indirect impact on the
environment, before granting a loan.
For some years, experts have been arguing that environmental problems or envi-ronmental impact caused by large-scale projects can be mitigated or controlled if
financial institutions or investors review and assess environmental risks from the start. In 1998, the International Finance Corporation adopted a Social and Environmental Policy and it has been applied in all the projects funded by the IFC since 2006. The aim is to weigh the environmental risks and thereby, avoid or minimize the negative impact to the environment or communities where the project is developed. In 2003, a group of international banks and the International Finance Corporation came up with the Equator Principles, providing a framework for financial institutions to assess and manage environmental and social risks in their project finance transactions worldwide, for any economic sector, including real estate development.
The assessment of environmental risk by financial institutions has several advantages, including the reduction of indirect risks that are generated by the operations or the cli-ent’s project itself. This type of risk can occur in two circumstances: when a company fails to comply with environmental legislation and incurs sanctions that prevent it from meeting its obligations with the financial institution; or when the financial institution receives the site in foreclosure and it has been contaminated, obliging the institution to pay for remediation. In Mexico, the General Law for the Prevention and Comprehensive Handling of Waste, stipulates that owners or possessors of contaminated land must reha-bilitate the site, independently of any administrative, civil or criminal sanctions. This may pose a grave risk for financial institutions if they have failed to assess the environmental risks before granting a loan. Another advantage of assessing environmental risks is that companies are encouraged to comply with environmental legislation and to implement environmental management systems, giving them advantages among competitors and clearer access to loans from financial institutions.
EqUAToR pRINcIpLEsThe Equator Principles were created by a concerned group of international banks to
manage the environmental risks involved in project finance. The result was the adoption of 10 principles based on the International Finance Corporation's Environmental and Social Standards. Their adoption is voluntary for any financial institution.
Currently, there are more than 70 financial institutions worldwide that have adopted the Equator Principles in their project finance transactions. While these principles apply to projects involving a major investment (total capital cost of $10 million or more), there are no limitations to applying them to any project that may adversely affect the environ-ment or pose an environmental risk.
NoTITUR16 NoTITUR16
Given the activities and the environment in which tourist resorts are built in our country, it is clear that financial institutions must take the lead in implementing envi-ronmental management policies (the Equator Principles), and obliging companies that seek funding, to comply with them. This preventive rather than corrective approach, is a move toward sustainable development. On the one hand, environmental risks are covered from the beginning in order to manage them and, on the other, they promote the development of productive activities while addressing the environmental, social and economic issues involved in sustainable development.
In order to apply the Equator Principles, financial institutions categorize the project according to the magnitude of the potential impact and risks of the project. This classifi-cation is at the heart of the principles, since a project category will determine the action plan and the requirements to be imposed by financial institutions. The project categories are: A) projects with potential significant adverse social or environmental impacts that are diverse, irreversible or unprecedented; B) projects with potential limited adverse social or environmental impacts, reversible and mitigated; C) projects with minimal or no social or environmental impact.
So if a planned tourist resort project falls into Category A, it must: i) create an environmental management system; ii) prepare and implement an action plan, that is implemented through the environmental management system; iii) fully comply with local environmental legislation in the area where the project is located; iv) conduct a review and assessment by external experts; and v) monitor and report the information to the financial institution. In Category A projects, financial institutions will also engage an independent external expert to review and assess the project’s compliance with the Equator Principles.
This set of principles reflects awareness of how environmental issues should be considered in decision-making. There are an increased number of public and private organizations that demand compliance with environmental legislation and the adoption of environmental management systems as part of the development of an economic activity, and not as an isolated issue.
Preventive rather than corrective action will benefit the present and future gen-erations. This change has been undertaken by financial institutions already, and it will oblige companies interested in acquiring a loan to do the same.
Equator principles
principle 1. review and categorization
principle 2. social and Environmental assessment
principle 3. applicable social and Environmental
standards
principle 4. action Plan and management system
principle 5. Consultation and disclosure
principle 6. Grievance mechanism
principle 7. independent review
principle 8. Covenants
principle 9. independent monitoring and
reporting
principle 10. Financial institutions reporting
Alberto silva is head of the Environmental department in Goodrich, Riquelme & Associates in Mexico, with more than 10 years of experience in environmen-tal law. He is an active member of the Environmental Sector of the National Association of Corporate Lawyers; the State of Mexico’s Industry Association; the Environmental Sector of the International Association of Young Lawyers, and of the Environmental Sector of the Mining Chamber of Mexico. He has participated in various seminars and conferences regarding environmental law. He is professor of environmental law at the Universidad de Las Américas. He received his LL.M in International Environmental Law from the University of Nottingham, England. In 2007, Alberto received the “Past Presidents’ Award” from the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA), as the best national report of the environ-mental committee “Can asbestos kill careers? Directors’ liability for Environment and Safety”. He advises clients on a broad range of environmental matters, includ-ing impact assessment, litigation, remediation actions, real estate developments, environmental compliance, permitting and corporate transactions. Conducts and co-ordinates environmental assessment diagnosis and environmental legal audits (due diligence). He has been involved in many environmental cases and represents clients from different industry sectors, such as mining, pharmaceutical, medical supplies and machinery, automotive and auto parts, soft drinks and carbonated beverages, real estate and maritime, among others.Mexico, City.
e-mail: [email protected]
A sTEp ToWARD sUsTAINABLE DEvELopMENT
AMDETUR
NoTITUR18 NoTITUR18
ToURIsM IN MExIco
tourism in mexico: Facing the Challenge of stronger Growth
By fERNANDo GoNzáLEz AND ADoLfo ALBo, BBvA BANcoMER
19Autumn
ToURIsM IN MExIco
1919
A. MyTHs AND REALITIEs• "Tourism is more than just lodging." Tourist
activities involve a wide range of products and services: transportation, lodging, food, leisure, etc.; and within these four areas, which account for around 85 percent of total tourism GDP, the biggest contributor is transport in all its forms. This business accounts for 26.8% of pro-duction by this industry; coming in second and third but almost even are real-estate and lodging, and preparation of food and beverages (20.6 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively). In fourth place stands manufacturing, with 16.9 percent. Construction comes in fifth with 2.9 per-cent; and finally, leisure with 1.3 percent.
Tourism plays a major role in many sectors of the Mexican economy. In lodging, food and beverages, almost 70 percent of its aggregate value depends on tourism; in transportation and leisure, around 30 per-cent; and in real-estate services, 15 percent.
• "Tourism requires heavy investment, bothpublicandprivate."Domestic and international travel-ers differ in their profiles, reasons for travel and levels of income. But the flow of travelers in Mexico breaks down as follows: For example, in 2009, 26 percent of available hotel rooms in Mexico were in five-star hotels, which in turn accounted for 56 percent of tourism's added value. When we add four-star hotels to this number, it rises to 45 and 80 percent, respectively. These are quality services, and they require high investment.
•"Touristactivitiesareconstantlychangingandchallenging." One of the characteristics of tourism around the world is the tremendous competition among different countries: the incorporation of new partici-pants, like China; the vigorous growth of some emerging countries; the constant renewal and sophistication of the required services; and the need to advance at least at the same speed as our closest competitors.
B. INTERNAL AND ExTERNAL sHocKsIn Mexico, tourist-related activities had a particularly
tough year in 2009 when they were hit by two shocks1: one external, which was the global recession that affected the entire economy; and one internal, which
Following up on BBVa Bancomer's analysis of the myths and realities surrounding mexico's tourism industry, the first part of which was published in the previous issue of notitur, we will here continue to go over some points that need to be worked on jointly in order to attain the goals we have set ourselves as an industry; and we will also speak about competitiveness, and the outlook for this crucial pillar of the mexican economy in the future.
Source: BBVA Research with data from InEGI, SCnM, CST
(% of GDp)
WEIGHT of ToURIsM AcTIvITIEs IN sEcToRs of THE EcoNoMy
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
68.3
31.427.1
15.5
7.33.5 3.1 3.1 3.0
lodg
ing
tran
spor
tatio
n
leis
ure
real
-Est
ate
man
ufac
turin
g
Busi
ness
sup
port
Com
mer
ce
Oth
er s
ervi
ces
Cons
truc
tion
NoTITUR20
was the H1n1 flu outbreak, which had most of its impact on the second quarter of the year. Additionally, the problem of crime and violence, the fight against drugs and ground-ing of one of Mexico's largest airlines, can be considered a third "shock" on the industry, and it is therefore understandable that activity in Mexico should have slowed by more than the global average.
In this regard, we must consider the airline industry in a slightly broader perspective, because we must factor in its unique charac-teristics along with recession and the public health crisis: for example, the growth in com-petition in the preceding years, the increasing presence of low-cost carriers, or the costs of fuel and labor liabilities, which led to a restruc-turing of the airline industry following the exit of some of its players.
c. INTERNATIoNAL coMpETITIvENEss
Using incoming international tourists as a reference value, Mexico is one of the top tour-
ist destinations in the world, but this privilege is not guaranteed: new countries are entering the field of the leading tourist destinations. According to the World Economic Forum's Tourism Competitiveness Ranking, in 2009 Mexico came in 51 in a list of 133 countries. But in our own classification, which is sub-ject to nuance, we have classified the pillars of competitiveness into three major groups: strengths, opportunities and weaknesses, and according to the components of the competi-tiveness index and its 14 variables. In four of these, Mexico has strengths; in eight, opportu-nities; and in two, weaknesses.
D. pRospEcTs AND pRojEcTIoNsIn the last week of December 2010 (week
52), the 70 main Datatur2 centers reported a hotel occupancy rate 4.6 percent higher than the preceding year, and 73 percent higher than in 2008. This points to a good rate of annual growth for 2011, although on average this level will still be lower than 2008--but it is improving.
ToURIsM coMpETITIvENEss INDEx 2009*(RANK AMoNG 133 coUNTRIEs)
fAcToRs oR pILLARs MExIco MAIN DEsTINATIoNs oTHER DEsTINATIoNs
France usa spain italy China turkey Brazil dom. r.
natural resources 18 39 1 30 90 7 89 2 55
Cultural resources 20 7 9 1 5 15 27 14 95
importance of tourism 35 21 44 4 51 28 46 84 13
transp. infrastructure 40 5 2 10 27 34 44 46 47
tourist infrastructure 49 14 10 1 3 80 44 45 51
regulation 58 25 16 74 71 87 44 94 26
human resources 63 23 7 31 41 46 75 55 92
technological infrastructure 69 19 15 31 25 68 57 60 83
health and hygiene 74 9 47 35 27 91 62 80 68
Price competitiveness 77 132 107 96 130 20 109 91 81
land transp. infrastructure 84 3 18 20 40 55 62 110 99
attitude toward industry 90 55 106 48 71 127 47 108 14
sustainable environment 101 4 106 31 51 105 104 33 108
security 126 55 122 66 82 116 92 130 101
Total competitiveness 51 4 8 6 28 47 56 45 67
strength: 1 to 45
opportunity: 46 to 90
Weakness: +90
Source: BBVA Research with data from The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report
AMDETURToURIsM IN MExIco
1. Here we are using the word "shock" in the economic sense, as a sudden and profound change in demand or supply
conditions in an industry.2. Ministry of Tourism Statistical
Information System
21Autumn
Fernando Gonzalez Cantú
is senior Economist for
sectorial and regional
research at Grupo Financiero
BBVa Bancomer, having worked in various posi-
tions at that institution since 1993. he has also
given classes in the Economics department and in
master's degree programs in urban settlements
and health at the universidad autónoma de nuevo
león, as well as in the Economics department
of the instituto tecnológico y de Estudios
superiores de monterrey, and was professor and
full-time researcher at the Center for Economic
and demographic studies of Colegio de méxico.
he has a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the
universidad autónoma de nuevo león, and has
taken specialization courses in demographics from
the u.n. latin american Center for demographics,
at the universidad de Chile.
adolfo albo márquez is
Chief Economist for mexico
at BBVa Bancomer, Grupo
BBVa, where he directs
research into the economy, finance, banking,
pensions, industry, real-state, and migration. he
has a master's degree from itam with honors,
and has received the following recognitions:
Banamex Economics Prize, national Economic
Consultancy Prize (tlacaelel). in addition, he
has post-graduate studies in economy and
finance and has published studies in collabora-
tion with the idB and the OECd. For more than
5 years he has been researching and study-
ing emerging economies and markets. he was
Chief Economist for latin america at BBVa,
headquartered in madrid, spain; and director of
investment strategies for latin america.
ToURIsT AcTIvITy INDIcAToRs: HoTEL AcTIvITy IN BEAcH REsoRTs
(NUMBER of RooMs occUpIED, WEEK 52 IN 2010, As of THE cLosE of jANUARy 2, 2011)
Occupancy as of 2 Jan. % annual chge.
ytd Week
selected beach centers 107,178 12.0 7.2
riviera maya 28,564 24.4 10.6
Cancún 22,411 4.9 3.2
acapulco 14,566 22.0 31.1
los Cabos 8,614 17.7 2.2
Puerto Vallarta 8,855 1.1 5.6
mazatlán 5,777 -4.2 -8.1
Veracruz 6,123 -7.4 -1.2
nuevo Vallarta 5,359 30.8 5.7
ixtapa Zihuatanejo 4,309 0.9 -6.6
huatulco 2,600 6.7 10.6
major cities 20,868 12.5 -0.2
Colonial cities 16,769 10.3 0.0
Pueblos mágicos 3,299 -3.6 -1.3
Border cities 2,685 5.7 10.1
subtotal 150,799 11.5 5.1
other important 32,035 3.5 2.1
Total 182,834 10.0 4.6
Source: BBVA Research, with data from Sectur
From our point of view, the Mexican tourist industry has more strengths and opportunities than weaknesses, and therefore its prospects are positive. The industry will continue to grow, and the country will remain one of the world's leading tourist destinations. In this context, the challenge is to take better advan-tage of our strengths to invigorate the indus-try, and to advance in areas of opportunity to consolidate it, and to attain a rate of growth that is above that of the overall economy. Many of the conditions are already in place; others we must build; as a country, we must address these pending tasks.
ToURIsM IN MExIco
Comments [email protected] and [email protected]
NoTITUR22
sTATIsTIcs
Domestic Market Demand Rises
for Urban and Vacation homes in vallarta
By oMAR cHáRRAGA
HoUsING MARKET GRoWING RApIDLyThe 2010 census by Mexico's national Institute
for Statistics and Geography (InEGI) reports a total of 100,000 urban and vacation homes in the Puerto Vallarta metropolitan area. If we assume a population growth equal to that of 2005-2010, it would mean an average growth of 4,000 homes per year, an annual average of 7 percent. This trend would lead to almost 150,000 homes in that area of Vallarta by the year 2015.
In the same census, InEGI found that there were 3.7 inhabitants on average per home, a number that is expected to decline to an average of 3.4 by 2015.
ANNUAL HoUsING GRoWTH RATE
zoNE 1995 2000 2005 2010 95-00 00-05 05-10 2015 2020
Puerto Vallarta 34,965 44,313 53,195 66,729 5.3% 4.0% 5.1% 85,524 109,614
Bahía de Banderas 10,551 14,181 21,017 33,956 6.9% 9.6% 12.3% 57,784 98,209
All Vallarta 45,516 58,494 74,212 100,685 5.7% 5.4% 7.1% 143,272 207,823
NEW HIGHWAy WILL BoosT ToURIsM AND BRING IN MoRE DoMEsTIc HoME BUyERs
Authorities are planning to build a new highway between the city of Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta that will reduce the travel time to only 2.5 hours instead of four at present. Although a formal date for the start of work has not been set, the plan is for this to be done in the short-medium term.
This reduction in travel time will turn Vallarta into a destination that can even be visited as a day trip, but for many families it could become attractive as a weekend stay, with a night in a hotel, particularly travelers from the state of Jalisco.
As regards the purchase of real-estate properties, the new highway will not substantially increase ownership in
23Autumn
sTATIsTIcs
Domestic Market Demand Rises
for Urban and Vacation homes in vallarta
Vallarta by residents of Guadalajara, since 60 percent of domestic homeowners in Vallarta are already from that city. But it could further boost purchases of vacation property by tourists from the Bajío and central region of Mexico, because it will shorten travel time to the resort cities of Vallarta (4-6 hours maximum).
The cities whose inhabitants may be more likely to buy tourist homes in Vallarta after the new highway opens are:
AguascalientesLeónIrapuatoCelayaGuanajuatoQuerétaroMoreliaMexico CityToluca
This is a phenomenon we have seen in the past, when tourist flow increased to destinations like Acapulco, with the "Highway to the Sun," which runs from Mexico City to that port; or Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, with the new highway from Morelia; and soon Mazatlán, when the highway from Durango to that coastal destina-tion is completed.
TREND IN HIGH-END HoMEsThe following graphs show the trend in annual sales
of high-end homes (selling for more than USD200,000) in Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas.
Omar Chárraga is director of tourist residential housing for softec. he has a Bachelor's degree
in Business administration from the department of accounting and administration of unam
and a master's degree in marketing from the instituto tecnológico de Estudios superiores de
monterrey. he has been marketing manager for KPmG and Promotion supervisor for Procter &
Gamble. he has been a project leader in 300 consulting projects, has given conferences at expo-
sitions and has been instructor and trainer for 20 construction companies throughout mexico.
in his current position, his responsibilities include market analysis of tourist residential housing,
urban housing, shopping and Office Centers and industrial Bays. he has also authored various
articles for newspapers like reforma, Excélsior, and El Economista, and magazines like Expansión,
mundo Ejecutivo, real Estate and metros Cúbicos. he is also the author of the publications
mexican housing Overview and dimE Vallarta.
[email protected]; [email protected] tel. (55) 50638828
In conclusion, we can say that public and private investment are definitely the triggers of growth and development for the city of
Vallarta, not just for the tourism industry but for the real-estate market in general, which will also benefit from this future program to improve
highway and communications infrastructure.
BAHíA DE BANDERAs
WITHoUT fRoNTAGE BUT WITH sEA vIEW.
WITHoUT fRoNTAGE AND WITHoUT sEA vIEW.
WITH BEAcH fRoNTAGE.
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
AN
NU
AL
sALE
s
600
400
200
0
pUERTo vALLARTA
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
600
400
200
0
AN
NU
AL
sALE
s
WITHoUT fRoNTAGE BUT WITH sEA vIEW.
WITHoUT fRoNTAGE AND WITHoUT sEA vIEW.
WITH BEAcH fRoNTAGE.
DEvELopERs
NoTITUR24
The prize is awarded on the basis of more than 500,000 comments that Expedia travelers send every year, and Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay in Mazatlán was one of
the 500 properties from around the world that were recognized for its consistently high level of service and for providing an exceptional service to its guests.
Earningaspotonthe“InsiderSelect”listisproofofPuebloBonito'songoingcom-mitment to excellence, and the permanent nature of this commitment is clear in its winning the award for the second year in a row. Constant training of its associates has made Grupo Pueblo Bonito the best hotel chain in Mexico, as reflected in the positive comments and recommendations by its guests. In fact, Pueblo Bonito has the highest guest satisfaction rating of any hotel group in Mexico.
In addition to this recognition, Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay Resort & Spa in Mazatlán has received the following additional awards in recent years:•FourDiamondsfromAAA•Travel&LeisureMagazineTop20Resorts&SpasofCanada,MexicoandCentral
America• Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Best Mexico Resorts, from 2007 to 2011,
consecutively•Travel+LeisureTop10HotelSpasinMexico,CentralandSouthAmerica2007
Grupo Pueblo Bonito has two hotels in Mazatlán: Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay Resort & Spa and Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán -the chain's flagship hotel- and four more stunning developments located in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur:• PuebloBonitoLosCabosor“Blanco”,asitistraditionallyknown• PuebloBonitoRoséResort&Spa• PuebloBonitoSunsetBeachResort&Spa• PuebloBonitoPacíficaResort&Spa
Award Winner Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay Resort & Spa in Mazatlán
Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay resort & spa in mazatlán, sinaloa, was
awarded the Expedia insider select 2011 prize, which recognizes the
best hotel resorts in Expedia's global market.
Award received by Pueblo Bonito: José Gámez, Sales
Director, and Roberto Tussi, Managing Director
Emerald Bay. Attests Oralia Rice, Minister of Tourism
for the Sinaloa state.
