The Economic Significance of

Meetings to MexicoUNWTO Model

Purpose of the Study

• Show meetings is an economic engine beyond tourism activity

• Identify the importance of meetings to tourism

• Provide a basis for on-going benchmarking

• Justify investment in the meeting industry by destinations or Governments

Definition of a Meeting

• Minimum of 10 participants, 4 hours in length, held in a contracted venue (LOCAL, DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL)

• Includes: conventions/conferences, trade shows/exhibitions, incentive events, corporate/business meetings

• Excludes: consumer shows, social events, sports events, etc.

Survey Audience Sample Completed Response Rate

Primary Sample:

Venue Managers 314 66 21%

Mexico Meeting Organizers 88 31 35%

OCVs 58 25 43%

Supplemental Sample:

US Meeting Organizers 10,445 266 3%

Total 388

Research: Primary and Secondary

Challenge: Culture of Sharing Information

Venue Type Events %Lodging facility 159,900 81%

Purpose-built 25,700 13%

Other 11,800 6%

197,400 100%

Meetings Volume by Venue Type

Challenge: Balance in infrastructure

Meeting Type Events %Corporate / Business 131,000 66%Convention / Conference 28,000 14%Incentive 6,300 3%Trade Show / Exhibition 4,400 2%Other 27,700 14%

197,400 100%

Meetings Volume by Type

Challenge: Match between destinations and market

Room Nights Generated by Meetings

Meeting Type Room Nights %

Corporate / Business 11.0 million 46%

Convention / Conference 6.4 million 26%

Trade Show / Exhibition 4.8 million 20%

Incentive 1.4 million 6%

Other 0.7 million 3%

24.3 million 100%

Challenge: Getting hoteliers on board

Meeting Type Participants %

Corporate / Business 10.2 million 44%

Trade / Exhibition 5.4 million 23%

Convention / Conference 5.1 million 22%

Incentive 0.6 million 2%

Other 1.9 million 8%

23.1 million 100%

Participant Volume by Meeting Type

Challenge: Demonstrating value of Association Market

Meeting Type Local Domestic Foreign Total

Corporate / Business 5.4 million 4.6 million 0.2 million 10.2 million

Trade / Exhibition 2.4 million 2.9 million 0.08 million 5.4 million

Convention / Conference 2.0 million 2.9 million 0.2 million 5.1 million

Incentive 0.02 million 0.2 million 0.4 million 0.6 million

Other 1.5 million 0.4 million 0.01 million 1.9 million

11.3 million 10.9 million 0.8 million 23.1 million

49% 47% 4% 100%

Meetings Participants by Origin

51% of participants traveled to meetings.

Challenge: so why so much investment?

Category Amount %

Participants $10.5 billion 58%

Net Production 5.1 billion 28%

Other 2.5 billion 14%

Total Direct Spending $18.1 billion 100%

Meetings Direct Expenditures

Challenge: Too good to be true

Meetings Share of Tourism =

$8.7 billion (9% of Tourism)

Meetings Relative to Tourism

Tourism*

$100.7 billion

Meeting

$18.1 billion

Learning: This is not a “segment” of Tourism

Meetings Share of Tourism =

$8.7 billion (9% of Tourism)

Meetings Relative to Tourism

Tourism*

$100.7 billion

Meeting

$18.1 billion

“Unrelated” to Tourism = $9.4

billion

Challenge: Convincing Politicians of its Benefit

Foreign Participants

• 830,000 foreign attendees to meetings

• Foreign attendees accounted for 7% of travel participants and 11% of spending by travel participants

• Foreign attendees spent an average of $1,092 per meeting for travel, registration, and other expenses

Mexico compared to US

Category Mexico USYear of Study 2010 2009Meetings 197,400 1,790,800Participants 23.1 million 204.7 millionRoom Nights 24.3 million 250.0 millionDirect Spending $18.1 billion $263.4 billionTourism Output $100.7 billion $708.3 billion

Learning: We are not so bad!

Indication of Direct Economic Contribution:

Industry Output $18.1 billion

Contribution to GDP* $12.1 billion

Employment* 441,000

Labor Income* $2.7 billion

*Note: based on ratios from third-party sources

The Great Numbers (Direct)

Challenge: How and What should we Communicate ?

*Indication of Total (Direct, Indirect, Induced) Economic Contribution:

Industry Output $32.5 billion

Contribution to GDP $25.1 billion

Employment 784,000

Labor Income $4.7 billion

*Note: Based on multipliers from third-party sources

What a contribution !

Next Steps

• Development of model for future updates

• Potential for continual data collection and benchmarking

• Potential to develop the significance of meetings at the state, local, and individual event level

Mexico is one of the top ten tourist destinations in the world:

Tourism represents 9% of the GDP.

Third largest source of foreign currency earnings.

More than 2.5 millions direct jobs & 7.5 million indirect jobs

6.3 millions cruise visitors

Where is Mexico in Tourism?

Place Country TouristsArrivals

2010(Millions)

1 Francia 76.8

2 EE.UU. 59.7

3 China 55.7

4 España 52.7

5 Italia 43.6

…….

10 México 22.4

Source: UNWTO, 2011

1st

…10th

18

22.4 millions visitors in 2010

51.3 millions Border crossers

Sun and Beach Destination ?

19

20

64% Mexico’s Visitors come to Sun and Beach Destinations !

Los CabosMazatlán

Acapulco

Ixtapa

Huatulco

Cancún/ Riviera Maya

Puerto Vallarta /Riviera Nayarit

21

Lead Destinations for Large Congresses

Los CabosMazatlán

Acapulco

Ixtapa

Huatulco

Cancún/ Riviera Maya

Mexico moved up in the ICCA ranking from 27º to 22º place with 140

congresses in 2010

Puerto Vallarta /Riviera Nayarit

Mexico City

Monterrey

Guadalajara

22

Los CabosMazatlán

Acapulco

Ixtapa

Huatulco

Cancún/ Riviera Maya

Puerto Vallarta /Riviera Nayarit

Mexico City

Monterrey

Guadalajara

Tampico

Zacatecas

Querétaro

Mérida

Puebla

Chihuahua

Morelia

Veracruz

New destinations for Meetings

Cuernavaca

23

Los CabosMazatlán

Acapulco

Ixtapa

Huatulco

Cancún/ Riviera Maya

ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM MEETINGS AND EVENTS INDUSTRY ARE

BROAD -BASED

Puerto Vallarta /Riviera Nayarit Mexico City

Monterrey

Guadalajara

Tampico

Zacatecas

Querétaro

Mérida

Puebla

Chihuahua

Morelia

Veracruz

Building right now!

Campeche

Tijuana

Oaxaca

Meetings Industry Overall Benefits to Mexico

City wide meetings and UN summits have impacted local and regional economies such as:

World Water Forum Mexico City 2006

Universal Forum of Cultures Monterrey 2007

XVII AIDS Conference Mexico City 2008

UN World Wilderness Forum Merida 2009

ITU Guadalajara 2010

COP 16 (legacy in sustainablebusiness culture, recycling and eolic energy infrastructure). Cancun 2010

24

We have to be able to measure education, innovation, knowledge shared and Legacy

Important Expansion in CVBs

25

Conventions and Visitors Bureau

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

27

56100%

Meeting Space has grown by 148%

26

Venues

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

545,335.9 m2

44

868,497.25 m2

67

Major Convention Centers

27 27

CENTRO DE CONVENCIONES Mazatlán

PALACIO DE CONVENCIONES Zacatecas