Mexico Pushes the Motivation Show in Chicago

CHICAGO — Mexico will demonstrate its commitment to staying on the vanguard of incentive tourism trends and technology at The Motivation Show (IT&ME), where it will debut a new computerized appointment system for suppliers and buyers and unveil two new incentive travel destinations. Chicago’s Motivation Show will be held from Sept. 26-28 at the prestigious McCormick Place.

Travel and meetings industry professionals looking to meet with the more than 80 Mexican entities gathered at the high-profile and high-tech Mexico Pavilion can schedule an appointment online at www.itmex.net/. The Mexico Tourism Board’s booth at Chicago’s Motivation Show will host destinations, convention and visitors bureaus, destination management companies, hotel chains, independent hotels and airlines, providing a convenient one-stop shop for industry insiders.

The impressive Mexican Pavilion, at 75 by 85 feet IT&ME’s fourth largest, debuted at last year’s show to provide organization, efficiency and design on a grand scale. Its concept design enables the more than 15,000 buyers to access all things Mexico from one convenient site, with ample space for meetings with Mexico Tourism Board and private venue representatives.

“Our high-profile and high-tech participation at The Motivational Show is a reflection of the growth of the incentive travel market in Mexico,” said Eduardo Chaillo, director of the Mexico Tourism Board in Chicago. “Mexico is a place where you can easily mix business and pleasure, with state-of-the art meeting facilities located near beautiful beaches, upscale shopping centers, world-class spas and golf courses, colonial towns, and breathtaking natural surroundings.”

Two new incentive destinations widen Mexico’s offerings
Mexico will also formally introduce two new destinations to the travel industry representatives gathered at The Motivation Show. These two destinations, as well as four others, are being developed thanks to collaboration by Mexico’s government and private tourism entities including SITE (Society of Incentive Travel Executives) Mexico chapter, which is managing the Your Best Reward is Mexico program.

Your Best Reward is Mexico (YBRM) will strengthen Mexico’s already strong standing in the incentive travel segment by adding destination options to complement the country’s well-positioned stand-bys: Cancun, Riviera Maya and Los Cabos. The effort is expected to increase the time and money international visitors spend in Mexico.

The program is managed by Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism, the Mexico Tourism Board’s Office of Meetings and Conventions, and the Mexican chapter of the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE), which was established in 1990. The effort marks the first time SITE International, the only not-for-profit, professional association devoted to the pursuit of excellence in incentives, is giving a stamp of approval to incentive destinations.

Mexico and business tourism make cents
Mexico receives nearly 22 million business and leisure travelers a year, and now ranks as seventh in international tourist arrivals according to World Tourism Organization figures released last month. One of the fastest-growing segments in Mexico’s thriving tourism industry is meetings and conventions.

“This new position reaffirms Mexico’s increasing commitment to this US$1.5 billion tourism segment as well as meeting planners’ and participants’ overall satisfaction with our country as a destination for their events,” said Elda Laura Cerda, executive director of the Mexico Convention Bureau. In addition, the 2003 inauguration of the Mexico Convention Bureau makes Mexico one of the few nations in the world with a national bureau dedicated to meetings and conventions.

Mexico is seeking to fully tap into the segment’s potential by taking a decidedly proactive approach in attracting new business in this segment, and IT&ME, the largest expo of its kind in North America, is the perfect place to start. The expo brings together the world’s largest collection of incentive merchandise, travel and meeting destinations, recognition awards, promotional products, performance improvement services and business gifts in one expo.

Makin’ it easy for event planners
With online booking tools to a wide array of modern facilities, Mexico has spared no effort in facilitating event planning for international professionals. One of the most important tools is the Mexico Tourism Board’s Meetings Online. This Web-based service allows meeting planners to review installations and available services in Mexico via the Internet by accessing the Meeting and Conventions section within the www.visitmexico.com site and completing a simple and brief registration.

Paying for events in Mexico is also easy on the wallet. Mexico has repealed the 15 percent value added tax for international meetings, expositions and conventions held in Mexico (10 percent in border states). The tax-free initiative covers venue rental, lodging, food and drinks inside the venues, airport/seaport/border transfers and trips between hotels and meeting places.

Also covered are related event services such as set-up, registration, masters of ceremonies, translators, hosts, audiovisual equipment, decoration, security and cleaning. All related services contracted up to two nights before and two nights after an event are eligible for the tax waiver.

About the Mexico Tourism Board
The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) brings together the resources of federal and state governments, municipalities and private companies to promote Mexico's tourism attractions and destinations internationally. Created in 1999, the MTB is Mexico’s tourism promotion agency, and its participants include members of both the private and public sectors. The MTB has offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

FOR PRESS ONLY: For additional ideas, help with a story or general travel and tourism information about Mexico, please contact the MTB’s North American Press Room directly at 1-800-929-4555, by e-mail at northamericanpress@visitmexico.com, or visit our press Web site at www.visitmexicopress.com. To access an online warehouse of free, downloadable b-roll, visit www.thenewsmarket.com/visitmexicopress.

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Erick Laseca
Mexico Tourism Board
312-228-0517 x20
312-228-0515 fax