Brand USA Connects Mexican Travel Trade with U.S. Partners During Focus On Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico (February 3, 2021)—Focus On Mexico, hosted on the new Brand USA Global Marketplace platform, welcomes Mexico’s leading airlines, tour operators, travel agents, and media outlets as well as representatives of well-known destinations, hidden gems, and exciting attractions from across the United States to share valuable insights, build connections, and offer inspiration for Mexican travelers. From Monday, February 8 (12:30-6:00 p.m. ET) to Tuesday, February 9, 2021 (2:30-6:30 p.m. ET), the virtual event will explore the latest research on Mexican travel intent, showcase expert opinions on projected travel trends, and provide strategic insights to help inform recovery plans when cross-border travel resumes.
“The world is facing unprecedented challenges all of which had a devastating effect on the global tourism industry. However, the start of a new year brings with it hope and optimism toward the future and a path to recovery,” said Christopher L. Thompson, Brand USA president and CEO. “Mexico is the USA’s second largest source for visitation and will play a critical role in our early recovery. And, Focus On Mexico will help reconnect U.S. destinations and the Mexican travel trade to ensure when the time is right, we can quickly begin to welcome back our neighbors to the south.”
Day One | February 8, 2021
The first day of Focus On Mexico will welcome a series of Mexican travel experts as they share their unique insights on the in-market traveler and travel landscape in preparation for when cross-border travel resumes. Program highlights include:
- Economic Outlook for Mexico 2021 and Its Impact on the Mexican Traveler | 12:35 p.m. ET Overview of Mexican consumer travel sentiment with Brand USA’s Director of Consumer Research, Rosina Barbastefano, and Deloitte México’s Director for Tourism and Regional Development, Tere Solís.
- Digital Marketing Travel Trends for the Mexican Market | 1:05 p.m. ET Moderator Gustavo García, Vice President of Digital and Creative at Edelman, will be joined by Gabriel Richaud, Managing Director of Interactive Advertising Bureau Mexico, to discuss the best communications and marketing strategies to attract the Mexican traveler to the U.S. based on insightful information about digital marketing travel trends and consumer digital use in Mexico.
- Understanding Travel Sentiment and Market Influences in Mexico | 1:35 p.m. ET Ana Paradela, Expedia Media Solutions director and business developer for Latin America and the Caribbean, will expand on recent Expedia Group global research. This session takes a closer look on how COVID-19 has impacted everything from traveler confidence to the factors influencing destination, accommodation, and transportation decisions in the Americas, particularly Mexico.
- Creating Compelling Travel Content for the Mexican Market | 2:20 p.m. ET A diverse panel of leading Mexican media—from Aire and El Economista to Ladevi Medios y Soluciones—will share their insights and perspective on innovative and effective ways for U.S. destinations to create appealing content for the Mexican traveler.
- Brand USA Mexico Update | 3:20 p.m. ET Brand USA’s Senior Manager of Global Markets, Suzana Shepard, will recap recent activities and outreach to the Mexican travel trade community, followed by a review of current and future partner opportunities in the Mexico market with Brand USA’s Director of Partner Marketing Programs, Jennifer Ross.
- Digital Video Content Trends in Mexico featuring GoUSA TV and ESPN | 5:30 p.m. ET Brand USA’s Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Aaron Wodin-Schwartz, will provide an overview of digital video trends in Mexico followed by a conversation with ESPN host, Pilar Pérez, about the top U.S. destinations and experiences for Mexican sports fans as captured by GoUSA TV’s La Última Experiencia.
Day Two | February 9, 2021
Tailored for the Mexican travel trade, the second day of Focus On Mexico will feature a series of updates on the latest products, protocols, news, and more from U.S. travel experts. Program highlights include:
- Mexican Airline and Air Travel Landscape | 2:35 p.m. ET (English) & 4:45 p.m. ET (Spanish) Roberto Trauwitz, president of the Council of the Mexican Group of Associations of Travel Agencies, will moderate a panel discussion on how airlines are approaching recovery with Jose Zapata, director of sales for Aeromexico & Delta Air Lines Mexico, and Rolf Meyer, managing director of sales for United Airlines Mexico.
- Insight and The Tourism Sentiment Index for Mexico | 3:20 p.m. ET Tripadvisor’s Senior Principal Client Partner, Carol Johnson, will discuss how to best position the U.S. and capture consumer demand when Mexico travelers start to travel again.
- Introduction to Brand USA Global Marketplace | 4:00 p.m. ET Brand USA’s Senior Manager of Global Markets, Suzana Shepard, will welcome the travel agent community and introduce them to the Brand USA Global Marketplace platform, as well as review top Brand USA resources available to the travel trade community.
- U.S. Travel Policies | 5:30 p.m. ET An update on U.S. travel policies affecting Mexican travelers.
A virtual solution for connecting U.S. suppliers with international markets, Brand USA Global Marketplace—a custom-built, always-on platform that provides access to a diverse range of U.S. destinations, attractions, and points of interest—solves the need for the U.S. travel community to engage with the global tourism industry while international travel is limited due to the impacts of COVID-19. Through events like Focus On Mexico, the Mexican travel community can foster meaningful business relationships and critical connections, at a time when it is needed most.
In addition to the scheduled programming of events about the U.S. and its diverse destinations, the Mexican travel trade community can interact with and virtually explore U.S. destinations via the USA Partner Pavilions, featuring geographically-driven partner Pods representing the entirety of the U.S.
Travel agents may attend Focus On Mexico at no cost, however advance registration is required: BrandUSAGlobalMarketplace.com/portal/register?event=focus-on-mexico.
Additional information about the event, including the full program of events is available at BrandUSAGlobalMarketplace.com/Focus-On-Mexico.
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About Brand USA
Brand USA is the nation’s destination marketing organization, dedicated to attracting legitimate international inbound travel to strengthen the U.S. economy, increase exports, create quality jobs, and promote community prosperity. By running data-driven campaigns and unifying messaging across industry and government, Brand USA positions the United States as a top global destination while providing current visa and entry information.
Since 2012 Brand USA, in collaboration with travel industry partners, has been responsible for attracting an additional 10.3 million visitors who spent nearly $35 billion in the United States, generating $76 billion in economic output, and sustaining nearly 40,000 jobs per year. Without any cost to taxpayers, these efforts have generated $10 billion in tax receipts and returned $20 to the U.S. economy for every dollar spent.