Notitur January / February 2014

2014

January February

Digital »Industry

Vacation Products in the Mexican Caribbean Dramatic Changes that Make an Impact on Our Business

» Social Responsibility

“Tourism Cares” In Support of the Tourism Industry

COMPETITIVNESS IN

TOURISM

New tourism policy to restore competitiveness int he industry and trigger regional growth

Publication of: of: Publication

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Amdetur Activities 27th Annual » Connections Beach Destination »»AMDETUR in the Convention» Academe Academia Sixth Bimonthly Period of 2013 Timeshare and Fractional OwnershipA New Course at

“A New Era for Tourism" Airports Growing Universidad Anáhuac

BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN Romárico D. Arroyo Marroquín Grupo Sunset EXECUTIVE Carlos Trujillo Balmaseda PRESIDENT Amdetur SecretarY Gerardo Rioseco Orihuela Fiesta Americana Vacation Club TREASURER Jaime Márquez Vargas Royal Holiday LEGAL Gerardo Freyre Fregoso DIRECTOR Vera y Carbajal COUNSELORS Juan Vela Ruiz / Grupo Velas Ricardo Montaudon Corry / RCI Juan Ignacio Rodríguez Liñero / RCI Kemil Rizk / Royal Resorts Marcos Agostini / Interval International Jorge Pallas Cáceres / Promotora Cancún Sunset Clubs Gustavo Ripol Bermúdez / Presidente Club de Viajes Francisco Aranda Bezaury / Club Real Resort Gibrán Chapur / Palace Resorts Jorge Herrera Rivadeneyra / Unlimited Vacation Club Director

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José Mata / www.pbase.com/ppmata Cel. (04455) 1885 8581

ADVERTISING Aurora Martínez V. aurora.martinez@prodigy.net.mx

LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS Lic. Patricia de la Peña, Asociación de Clubes Vacacionales de Quintana Roo, A.C. / Lic. Alejandro Lemus Mateos, Asociación de Desarrolladores y Promotores Turísticos de Tiempo Compartido, A.C. (Puerto Vallarta) / Dr. Jorge Téllez Landín, Asociación Sudcaliforniana de Desarrolladores de Tiempo Compartido, A.C. / Ing. José Luis Centeno, Asociación de Promotores de Clubes Vacacionales del Estado de Guerrero, A.C. / Lic. Fernando de Leeuw Santiago, Asociación de Clubes Vacacionales de Cozumel, A.C. / C.P. Fernando Alaniz Cárdenas, Asociación de Clubes Vacacionales de Sinaloa, A.C. / Lic. Cristhian Orozco Oseguera, Asociación de Desarrolladores y Operadores Turísticos de Ixtapa y Zihuatanejo, A.C.

If you would like to receive the digital version of Notitur, in English or Spanish, you can request it at: aurora.martinez@prodigy.net.mx Or dowload it directly: issuu.com/notitur

In the last two months of the year, AMDETUR’s activities included some new endeavors, from being invited to events such as the 3rd Bi-annual Conference of Certified Schools, held globally by the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, to the congress on “Attracting Investors to the Municipality of Ocosingo” in Chiapas.

Vacation Products in the Mexican Caribbean

Academe

Timeshare and Fractional Ownership, a New Course at Universidad Anáhuac

One out of every six tourism professionals in Mexico work in this segment, so the University is convinced that ensuring that undergraduate students in Tourism Management at that institution are academically prepared is a concrete response to what will be a growing demand in the labor market in coming years.

TRANSLATION Elizabeth Collins Morrison elizcollins@mac.com Fotography Amdetur

Activities in the Sixth Bimonthly Period of 2013

We are facing the cause and the effects of dramatic, rapid, even revolutionary, changes that make an impact on our business, that is why we must expand our market scope to attract a greater number of people to our presentations, and work together as an industry to intensify the brand positioning of the region.

Rosa de Jesús Lugo Dorantes

CHAIRMAN Romárico D. Arroyo Marroquín

Grupo Sunset executive Carlos Trujillo Balmaseda president Amdetur publisher Aurora Martínez V. DESIGN KEMCS Diseño y Marketing www.kemcs.com

digital

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Feature Competitiveness in Tourism

The study entitled "New tourism policy to restore competitiveness in the industry and trigger regional growth," developed by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), presents an analysis of Mexican tourism policy and reviews some recommendations intended to help improve competitiveness in this industry.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY “Tourism Cares”

Tourism Cares (TC) is a non-governmental organization based in Canton, Massachusetts that is supported by the United States travel industry. One of its main objectives is to bring forth the philanthropic passion and commitment of the travel industry to preserve and enhance the travel experience for future generations.

Notitur Digital is a bimonthly online publication, published by the Asociación Mexicana de Desarrolladores Turísticos, A.C. (Amdetur), WTC, Montecito # 38, Piso 32, Oficinas 11 – 14, Col. Nápoles, Mexico 03810, D.F. Phone and fax (55) 5488 2028 to 31. It is a sister publication to the printed magazine Notitur, whose registry numbers are: Certificate of Valid Title no. 3856, dated April 19, 1989; Certificate of Valid Content from the Comisión Calificadora de Publicaciones y Revistas Ilustradas no. 3172, dated April 19, 1989; Reserve Certificate Number 04-2005-030817343600-102 from the Instituto Nacional del Derecho de Autor, Ministry of Public Education. Amdetur is not responsible for the advertisements or “advertorials” published in Notitur Digital. Notitur treats personal information on its subscribers accoridng to the privacy standards of the Federal Law on the Protection of Data Held by Private Parties. For more information on our privacy policy, visit our webpage at: www.amdetur.org.mx.

www.amdetur.org.mx / FB: AmdeturMx www.amdetur.org.mx

» AMDETUR

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n the last two months of the year, AMDETUR’s activities included some new endeavors, from being invited to events such as the 3rd Bi-annual Conference of Certified Schools, held globally by the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, to the congress on “Attracting Investors to the Municipality of Ocosingo” in Chiapas. We were also asked to attend the First Pacific Forum on Vacation Ownership, organized by the Association of Vacation Clubs of Sinaloa, and continued to support the development of tourism in our country by collaborating with leading organizations in the industry.

Activities in the

6th bimonthly period of 2013 André Witschi, President of Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne, during the opening ceremonies of the 3rd Biannual Conference of Certified Schools by the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne.

Winners of “Finito’s” boxing gloves

During AMDETUR’s Marketing Committee meeting held on October 17 of last year, the boxing gloves of the famous minimumweight and light flyweight champion Ricardo “Finito” López, which he donated following his magnificent presentation at the AMDETUR 2013 Annual Convention were raffled. The winners were: Fernando Beriztain Gutiérrez, an undergraduate student in Tourism at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN); Fernando Cornejo Lafuente, Financial Consultant to Club Inntegra Manzanillo; and Aurora Martínez, from AMDETUR’s Press and Communciations department.

Winners of the boxing gloves donated

by Ricardo “Finito” López during the AMDETUR 2013 Annual Convention: Left: Fernando Beriztain Gutiérrez, an undergraduate student in Tourism at the IPN Down: Fernando Cornejo Lafuente, Financial Consultant to Club Inntegra Manzanillo .

Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne

On October 23, AMDETUR was present at the opening ceremonies of the 3rd Biannual Conference of Certified Schools held globally by the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne.

The event took place at CESSA (Centro de Estudios Superiores de San Ángel) University, which is a member of EHL and is located in Mexico City. Among the tourist industry personalities present were Marko Giulietti, Consul for the Swiss Embassy in Mexico; André Witschi, President of EHL; and Luz María Arteaga de Guerrero, Rector of CESSA, as well as a speech by one distinguished graduate of that institution, André Gerandou, who is currently Vice President of Meliá Hotels and Resorts in Mexico.

Third Ordinary Meeting of the CPTM

On October 24, the Board of Governors of the Mexico Tourism Board (CPTM) held their 3rd Ordinary Session, presided over by the Under-Secretary of Innovation and Quality for the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR), Francisco Maas Peña.

The meeting was used to present the campaigns that will be conducted to promote Mexican tourist destinations within the country and around the world in coming years, and also CPTM’s General Director, Rodolfo López Negrete, spoke about the new campaigns “Remember Acapulco” and “Travel through Mexico,” which were designed especially to reactivate tourism after the natural disasters that recently affected this country.

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» AMDETUR Romárico Arroyo Marroquín, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AMDETUR (2nd to the left), during the 3rd Ordinary Meeting of the Board of Directors of CPTM

Successful Seminar in Guadalajara

AMDETUR, in coordination with the Association of Timeshare Developers and Tourism Promoters (ADEPROTUR) and with the support of the Association of Vacation Clubs of Quintana Roo (ACLUVAQ) and the Southern California Association of Timeshare Developers (ASUDESTICO), three of its local affiliated associations, on November 7 held a seminar entitled "Analysis of the Finance Reform for 2014 and the Law for Prevention and Identification of Transactions With Illegal Resources” in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco.

The event was programmed based on the considerable interest generated by a first seminar in Mexico City, and was attended by more than 50 industry specialists and representatives as well as expert speakers: Jorge Burgos, Corporate Tax Manager for Royal Resorts, who served as moderator; Arturo Méndez, Specialist Partner in Tax Matters and Tourism, and Claudia Rojo, Tax Law Manager, both of PricewaterhouseCoopers Guadalajara; Juan Francisco Valles, Associate and Francisco Montalvo, Specialist Partner in Real Estate, from Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez; and Miguel Ángel Temblador, Tax Partner, together with Roberto Romo, Legal Director, from KPMG Cárdenas Dosal.

Meeting with Grupo En Concreto

AMDETUR attended a breakfast meeting organized by Grupo En Concreto on November 5, for the purpose of promoting communication with leaders of the tourist industry and exchanging opinions on the Fiscal Reform passed by Congress in October. With this type of meeting, Grupo en Concreto creates another forum for dialogue and strengthens its close ties with the industry, encouraging a more thorough discussion of the activities, challenges and achievements of its member organizations and companies.

Seminar on "Analysis of the Finance Reform for 2014 and the Law for Prevention and Identification of Transactions with Illegal Resources,” given in the city of Guadalajara.

Mariel Zúñiga, radio host and director of Grupo en Concreto, during the breakfast meeting organized by this important media group to discuss the Fiscal Reform.

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» AMDETUR 5th Tourism Week, organized by the Universidad Anáhuac del Norte

1st Pacific Forum on Vacation Ownership, organized by the Association of Vacation Clubs of Sinaloa.

On November 11, AMDETUR also participated in the 5th Tourism Week, an event organized by the Tourism School of the Universidad Anáhuac del Norte, during which a Congress was held entitled "Vacation Ownership – One of the FastestGrowing Segments of the Industry." Speaking about the topic were experts in the field like Kemil Rizk, President and CEO of Royal Resorts; Gustavo Ripol, CEO of The Club at Presidente; David Fuentes, Director of Consulting in Tourism Oriented Real Estate, RCI; Verónica Montes, Representative for Central and Southern Mexican Accounts, Sales and Customer Service, Interval International; Gonzalo Maqueda, Founder and Director of M2M Consultores, and Gerardo Rioseco, General Director of Vacation Ownership for Fiesta Americana, among others. Attending the opening ceremonies were Francisco Madrid, Director of the Tourism School of that university, and Vice Rector Jaime Durán Lomelí. Students also had the opportunity to share their concerns and ask questions by participating in lively work tables entitled "Talk with the Experts."

First Pacific Forum on Vacation Ownership

Under the enthusiastic leadership of Fernando Alaniz Cárdenas, Executive President of the Association of Vacation Clubs of Sinaloa, an AMDETUR affiliate, the 1st Pacific Forum on Vacation Ownership was held in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, on November 8 and 9. The event was attended by industry professionals as well as students interested in learning more about job opportunities in this fast-growing branch of tourism.

Panelists included AMDETUR and various representatives from its associates Grupo Mayan, Pueblo Bonito, Royal Villas, RCI, The Inn at Mazatlan, ASUDESTICO, as well as the sales training company Maximum Sales Power.

Congress "The Vacation Ownership - One of the Most Dynamic Sectors Industry" held in the framework of the 5th. Tourism Week organized by the Universidad Anahuac Norte.

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» AMDETUR 13th Cultural Tourism Congress and Fifth Academic Forum on Tourism-Anáhuac

On November 14, AMDETUR was present at an event that combined the 13th Cultural Tourism Congress and the 5th Academic Forum on Tourism-Anáhuac, organized by the National Tourism Business Council (CNET) and Universidad Anáhuac Norte, in a joint effort with the National Council for Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA). The core theme of the event was Cultural Tourism, and it was attended by important personalities like Claudia Ruiz Massieu, Minister of Tourism, and Carlos Joaquín González, Under-Secretary of Tourism Operations for SECTUR; Héctor Gómez Barraza, General Director of the National Trust Fund for the Development of Tourism (FONATUR); Rafael Tovar y de Teresa, Chairman of CONACULTA; Priest Jesús Quirce and Francisco Madrid, Rector, and Director of the Tourism School of the Universidad Anáhuac; Enrique Solana, Vice President of CONCANACOSERVYTUR; and Pablo Azcárraga, President, together with José Chapur Zahoul, Vice President of CNET.

Punto México

On November 14, the Ministry of Tourism, headed by Claudia Ruis Massieu, officially opened the interactive exhibition "Punto México," designed for domestic and international tourists to be able to admire and learn about the tourist attractions of the country’s 32 states. In this center, visitors can take interactive tours and perform online inquiries, and can see slideshows and videos about the culture, traditions, crafts and gastronomy of each of the different tourist regions.

AMDETUR was present at the opening of this important forum, the creation of which was the product of joint work between SECTUR, CPTM and FONATUR, and has a staff fluent in English, French and other languages to provide quality attention to visitors.

Claudia Ruiz Massieu, during the opening of "Punto México" an interactive space created by SECTUR, CPTM and FONATUR to promote the wealth of Mexican tourism.

Romárico Arroyo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AMDETUR (center), delivering a recognition to members of the panel on "Investing in Cultural Tourism:" Beatriz Quintanar, Editor of the magazine México Desconocido; Rafael Micha, Directing Partner, Grupo Habita; Francisco Madrid, Director of the Tourism School of Universidad Anáhuac; Justo Fernández Ávila, President of the Federation of Haciendas and Inns of Mexico; Fernando Pérez Córdoba, Vice President of Mexican Treasurers, during the 13th Tourism Congress and 5th Academic Forum on Tourism.

Bimonthly Meeting SECTUR-CNET

On November 19, the last Bimonthly Meeting of the year between SECTUR and CNET was held, with the presence of Minister of Tourism Claudia Ruiz Massieu and Pablo Azcárraga, President of CNET, who were accompanied by key industry leaders like Carlos Joaquín, Under-Secretary of Operations for SECTUR, Francisco Madrid, Director of the Tourism School of Universidad Anáhuac Norte, José Chapur Zahoul, Vice President of CNET, and Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, President of Grupo Questro. During the meeting, participants spoke about the topics for the industry, such as the conclusions of the new Finance Reform, emphasizing issues that still concerned the industry.

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» AMDETUR Investment in Chiapas Moves Ahead

In the municipality of Ocosingo, located in eastern side of the state of Chiapas, AMDETUR attended a congress entitled “Attracting Investors to the Municipality of Ocosingo” which was held on November 21 to report on work being carried out to promote development and regional tourism. Among the actions mentioned were projects like the 160 km-long San Cristobal-Palenque highway, which will make travel easier through the zone; a theme park; a 5-star hotel; and a hospital. The event was attended by the Municipal President of Ocosingo, Octavio Albores Cruz, as well as congressional representatives from the district and various investors interested in this State, which is taking great strides toward its development.

Congress on “Attracting Investors to the Municipality of Ocosingo,” in Chiapas, attended by various investors interested in this fast-growing region.

Gerardo Freyre Fregoso, Legal Director of AMDETUR, giving a seminar on Environmental Law and Justice in Cancun.

Seminar on Environmental Law and Justice

Gerardo Freyre Fregoso, Legal Director of AMDETUR and head of the law firm Vera & Carbajal, gave a seminar on Environmental Law and Justice at the Casa de la Cultura Jurídica in Cancun.

Economic Statistics on Tourism

On November 25, AMDETUR was present at the National Meeting of Economic Tourism Statistics 2013, attended by representatives of SECTUR, DATATUR (Mexico’s national tourist industry statistical information system), INEGI (the National Institute for Statistics and Geography), Banco de México and Tourist Observatory members from various states of Mexico.

In that meeting, tourism industry authorities confirmed soon both the Tourism Satellite Account (part of SECTUR’s and INEGI’s statistical system) and INEGI’s North America Industrial Classification System (SCIAN) will include indicators about the Timeshare business.

National Tourism Statistics meeting 2013, held on November 25.

Eduardo Sánchez Navarro Redo, Carlos Joaquín González, Claudia Ruiz Massieu and Pablo Azcárraga, during the last SECTUR-CNET Bimonthly Meeting of in 2013.

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» AMDETUR National Tourism Forum

AMDETUR was also present at the National Tourism Forum, which this year was entitled "Investing in Tourism: A Game with No Clear Rules?" During the meeting, renowned authorities from the industry shared their reflections, opinions and proposals on supporting growth in Mexican tourism.

The Panelists Were: Carlos Joaquín, Under-Secretary of Tourism Operations for SECTUR; Enrique de la Madrid Cordero, General Director of Bancomext; Héctor Gómez Barraza, General Director of FONATUR; Pablo Azcárraga Andrade, President of CNET; Augusto Arellano, Director of Evercore; Alejandro Morones, Former Under-Secretary of Tourism; Mauricio Hurtado, Tax and Legal Consultancy Leader, PWC Mexico; John McCarthy, CEO of Leisure Partners; Kemil Rizk, Chairman and CEO of Royal Resorts; and Óscar Espinosa Villarreal, Former Minister of Tourism.

Also present was Fernando Martí, Director of the National Tourism Forum; Pedro Dondé Escalante, independent consultant for the tourist real estate sector and José Yuste, columnist and radio show host on matters of the economy, acting as moderator.

1st meeting of CNET with the National Security Commission, to discuss concrete actions to ensure the safety of visiting tourists.

New Consumer Trends, by Interval International

The prestigious vacation exchange company Interval International hosted a presentation on December 3 in Cancun to discuss new market and consumer trends in Timesharing. The event, attended by executives of various affiliate resorts, was led by Marcos Agostini, Senior Vice President of Resort Sales and Business Development for Latin America at Interval International, accompanied by Carlos Drombo, digital marketing specialist, who spoke about the important rule currently played by mobile devices in our industry.

CNET Meeting with National Security Commission

On November 28 CNET held its first meeting with the National Security Commission, which was headed by Dr. Nora Frías Melgoza, Head of the Social Outreach and Coordination area of the Commission’s Service Center (CEAC), a citizens’ service office created to provide emergency response and tracking, along with José de Jesús Solís Rodríguez, General Policy Director for Police Development and Social Outreach.

During the meeting, which AMDETUR attended, participants analyzed crucial issues such as setting up an 088 phone number for centralized handling of emergency calls, as well as introducing specially designed security protocols for the tourist industry.

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Marcos Agostini, Senior Vice President of Resort Sales and Business Development for Latin America, presenting new industry and consumer trends in Timeshare.

4th Ordinary CPTM Meeting

During the 4th Ordinary Meeting of the Board of Governors of CTPM, in which the Council presented its results for January-September and its working plan for 2014, its General Director, Rodolfo López Negrete, announced that revenues from international tourism had grown 8.8 percent over the preceding year. Tourism from the United States was up 8.8 percent; from Great Britain, 16.8 percent and www.amdetur.org.mx

» AMDETUR from Germany, 7 percent. In the domestic market, some 15.5 million domestic travelers stayed in Mexican hotels, according to figures from DATATUR. Romárico Arroyo, Chairman of the Board of AMDETUR; Jorge Hernández, President of the CNT; Rodolfo López Negrete, Director of CPTM; and Francisco Maas, Under Secretary of Planning for SECTUR, during the 4th Ordinary meeting of the CPTM.

Comida de Fin de Año CNET.

Mexican Environmental Performance Standard

With the help of environmental consultants who work with AMDETUR, we participated in the review of the Mexican Environmental Performance Standard, which was presented by the Ministry for the Environment and National Resources (SEMARNAT). Since the Standard was first drafted, the private sector had not been asked for its input, so Garbriel Santoyo from Sunset World Group and Gerardo Freyre, Legal Director of AMDETUR, joined in the review process in order to analyze and contribute the tourist industry’s perspectives.

Year-End CNET Dinner

On December 11, CNET held its traditional year-end dinner, attended by the Minister of Tourism, Claudia Ruiz Massieu, and Under-Secretary of Tourism Operations for SECTUR, Carlos Joaquín, accompanied by their host, Pablo Azcárraga, Director of CNET, and important industry personalities, who took advantage of the occasion to discuss various matters of interest for the industry.

Timeshare featured in "Revista del Consumidor"

In its November 2013 issue, Revista del Consumidor (Consumer Magazine), published by the Federal Attorney's Office of Consumer (PROFECO), presents an article entitled “Guide for acquiring Timeshares,” providing information of interest to potential buyers, addressing the characteristics and basic types of Timeshare products and a series of recommendations for finding the best option according to each buyer’s needs, in a clear and instructive way, placing Timesharing in a very real and objective context.

Remember you can find more information on all these topics in our Fan Page on Facebook January / February 2014

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Âť Industry

Vacation Products in the Mexican Caribbean

By Donald Gordon / Associate Director and Commercial Director of Real Club Resorts

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n speaking about vacation products in the Mexican Caribbean, we must consider the context of the entire industry, and even reconsider the term "vacation ownership." Basically, what we are facing is the cause and the effects of dramatic, rapid, even revolutionary, change, in the following aspects:

Geography

The development of vacation products throughout the Caribbean region presents a growing competitive challenge for the Mexican Caribbean, but taking actions like lowering room rates to be able to compete, will negatively affect the nature of the club market.

That is why our industry needs to implement a collective strategy to increase demand. It is crucial that we work together toward common objectives.

Increase in Purchasing Points

Many hotel operators in the region have begun to sell travel club memberships which require a double effort by available human 08

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Âť Industry resources and also runs the risk of saturating the market. As a more competitive option, the industry as a whole should be more efficient in its marketing and sales efforts, while developing products that offer unique and lasting appeal.

The Market and the Consumer

There is a new generation of consumers that are not inclined to take on long-term financial commitments, and instead find value in short-term agreements acquired online.

This means the Mexican Caribbean must add special value to its offering in order to motivate the interest of the buyer for club-type products, and design products that are more market-friendly and price-sensitive. At the same time, we must expand our market scope to attract a greater number of people to our presentations, and work together as an industry to intensify the brand positioning of the region.

Product

"Value for Price" is the leading trend today in positioning many products in the midrange of the luxury market, consistent with what this type of consumer requires, but the problem is that the situation is combined with buyers' inclination to seek out everything they need in very exclusive places, such as a few select websites.

Process and Method

As an industry, we face two major problems: the high cost of selling the product and the fact that we have left a lot of revenues "on the table." Obviously, these two aspects are the biggest challenges for properties in vacation clubs both in the Mexican Caribbean and in most other tourist destinations. For this reason, we must optimize each of the elements that characterize our product: the way we sell it, the way we increase our exposure in the market, how to deal with cash flow problems, reduce costs, set prices, where to sell, point-of-purchase dynamics and many other issues. To do this we depend on the methods, processes and systems that we develop and implement to be competitive against other travel options. This is the most critical point in the evolution of the changes we are currently facing and, if we do not resolve it, we are at risk of having our process become, at least, partially obsolete.

maintain productivity levels becomes increasingly scarce.

We must introduce alternative sales methodologies to offset these trends, which are rapidly intensifying.

Another big trend is the fact that there are increasingly fewer human beings in contact with the client. This means that recruitment outside of the industry, the use of profiles, conditioning and training are all key survival strategies for personnel in the club industry. â—„

Travel remains a fundamental aspect inherent to human experience, like commitment to family and quality of life. Globalization has given rise to an increasingly well-traveled middle class. Accordingly, it is up to us to reinvent ourselves and thus to prosper and to grow by seizing new opportunities to redefine ourselves. The keywords are: optimization and innovation.

Donald Gordon is founding partner of the company META, specialized in consulting for Vacation Club sales. He is also Associate Director and Commercial Director of Real Club Resorts, whose efficiency is among the fastest growing in the market. Donald has learned and gained experience in each of the roles that exist in this business throughout his 16 year career in the industry. His mission has been to develop a clear understanding of the elements that define the success or failure of a Vacation Club operation.

He currently uses his knowledge and experience for the ongoing development of strategies that contribute to innovation and industry improvement.

Human resources

In an age in which consumers are programmed to shop online, and as new values are constantly being created, traditional one-on-one marketing and sales processes have become too expensive for us to compete, in addition to the drain on our cash resources. Besides that, it is debatable whether direct sales are the best way to reach buyers in this digital age. More and more, hotel operators are beginning to sell similar travel club products, which require marketing and sales personnel, making it harder to find trained personnel as well as the increase of costs while the opportunity to January / February 2014

Donald gordon

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» ACADEME

Timeshare and Fractional Ownership A New Course at Universidad Anáhuac

By Miguel Angel Arellano Bringas Professor at the Tourism School of Universidad Anáhuac and Corporate Revenue Manager for Grupo Presidente

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ware of the increasing importance of the Vacation Ownership industry within the overall universe of tourism, Universidad Anáhuac formally introduced a course on the subject in 2011. One out of every six tourism professionals in Mexico work in this segment, so the University is convinced that ensuring that undergraduate students in Tourism Management at that institution are academically prepared is a concrete response to what will be a growing demand in the labor market in coming years.

The semester-long course covers the following subjects: • Background of Timeshare and its objective in the hotel industry • Classification • Functioning • Industry trends • Timeshare promotion and marketing process • Sales strategies • Timeshare operation • Regulatory aspects

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» ACADEME The course also offers analysis of the perspectives shared by key players in the industry, like developers, sales companies, exchange companies and even consumers, providing an operating overview of all the areas that make up a resort, compared to traditional and mixed hotel formats.

This gives students a deeper understanding of the needs and procedures of each of these areas.

Resort Development Association (CRDA), as well as local associations in each tourist destination. They analyze the degree of influence each of these has, and the work they do in conjunction with other industry participants, including all levels of government.

Students also study the sales process in depth, in both theoretical and practical terms. After several classes in which they review and learn about marketing and commercial practices, they become “Mystery Shoppers” and visit different salesrooms in city, beach and even foreign destinations, in order to evaluate and propose alternatives for improvement according to the areas of opportunity they identify during the practices.

It is striking to see how students become so much more knowledgeable about this business, from the beginning of the semester when they have only an empirical awareness of it, to its conclusion when they are able to sustain their opinions and conclusions on solid foundations and show a marked enthusiasm for working in the industry.

Understanding the consumer’s perspective is crucial to this field, so during the semester students hear about the positive and negative experiences clients have had, from the expectations raised during their first contact in the sales process to promises that are not kept in the post-sale phase.

They also learn about success stories of companies that have achieved an exemplary level of customer satisfaction and study the best practices that earned them their prestige in the industry.

The course also covers national associations like AMDETUR and international organizations like the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and the Canadian

Achievements

On the understanding that in coming years, the creative development of new sales and marketing systems will necessarily be fueled by future generations, the course methodology dedicates considerable time to motiving and analyzing proposals in which students incorporate new social schemes and the latest technological innovations for maintaining industry growth at the pace consumers, and above all, investors expect.

Only a few semesters after having introduced this course to the Undergraduate Program in Tourism Management, the University considers its goals to have been met. Furthermore, in November 2013, a congress on "Vacation Ownership: One of the Fastest-Growing Segments of the Industry” was held in collaboration between the Tourism School of

Students and teachers of our school and other schools invited to the Congress of Vacation Ownership

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» ACADEME

Universidad Anáhuac and AMDETUR, setting the precedent for future joint endeavors: building on this relationship with AMDETUR and other key players in the industry to increase the sphere of influence and contribute to the creation and promotion of Vacation Ownership. ◄

Professor Jaime Durán Lomeli, Academic Vice President gave a message and inaugurated the Congress of the Vacation Ownership.

It is striking to see how students become so much more knowledgeable about the Vacation Ownership industry and gain a marked enthusiasm for working in the industry.

Left: Students, coordinators and managers who participated actively AMDETUR Right: Work table on Buyer's Profile leaded by consultant Gonzalo Maqueda

Miguel Angel Arellano Bringas has an undergraduate degree in Accounting from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and the Universitat Facultetein de Sint Ignatius en Antwerpen (UFSIA), Belgium. He worked for a number of years at Resort Condominiums International (RCI), both in the Latin American offices and in International Corporate headquarters, in the Global Revenue Management area. He also worked as Yield Manager at Royal Holiday and currently teaches undergraduate and master’s degree courses at the Tourism School of Universidad Anáhuac and works as Corporate Revenue Manager for Grupo Presidente.

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Miguel ángel ARRELLANO

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TOURISM ORIENTED REAL ESTATE ADVISORY & CONSULTING, TORE Services that concentrate more than 35 years of experience and market knowledge.

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Âť FEATURE

Competitiveness

in Tourism

By Rodrigo Gallegos Toussaint / Director of Technology and Climate Change at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness

T

he Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) is an independent, nonprofit research center that studies the economic and social phenomena that affect competitiveness. Its main objective is to generate public policy proposals that strengthen this area of our country compared to the rest of the world. Among its recent efforts was a study focused on the tourist industry entitled "New tourism policy to restore competitiveness in the industry and trigger regional growth."

This study presents an analysis of Mexican tourism policy and reviews some recommendations intended to help improve competitiveness in this industry since, from IMCO's point of view, there are policies that are ill adapted to new international trends and the country must face increasing competition from other tourist destinations around the world.

Current Situation Today, Mexico ranks 13th in the world in terms of the number of arriving international tourists, accounts for close to 9 percent of its GDP and 7 percent of its employed population, meaning 13 percent of total jobs; and although it has recovered somewhat from the difficulties experienced during the 2008 crisis, in both real and nominal terms it accounts for an increasingly smaller share of the domestic economy.

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Real GDP in the Tourism Industry and Percentage of GVA in Proportion to Real Domestic GDP Source: Compendium on Tourism in Mexico 2010, DATATUR, Satellite Tourism Account in Mexico. INEGI

Real and Mominal GDP in billions of dollars.

12,720

11,868

11,872

11,275

13,289

12,901

11,803

Source: Compendium on Tourism in Mexico 2010, DATATUR, Satellite Tourism Account in Mexico. INEGI

12,177

Foreign-Currency Revenues from International Tourists (Millions of Dollars) 2005-2012

GVA = Gross Value Added

$ $ $ $

Real GDP Percentage of Real GDP

Nominal GDP in the Tourism Industry Percentage of GVA in Proportion to Nominal Domestic GDP Source: Compendium on Tourism in Mexico 2010, DATATUR, Satellite Tourism Account in Mexico. INEGI

$ $

Real and Mominal GDP in billions of dollars.

GVA = Gross Value Added

$1,200 $1,000 $800

Current GDP

$600

Percentage of Current GVA

$400 $200

For some of the experts, Mexico is no longer one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the world. For example, the Tripadvisor travel guide does not list our country among the 10 best destinations, even through four of its beaches are included amongst the 25 most beautiful. Furthermore, Travel and Leisure includes no Mexican destination in its "best of the world" ranking, although some spas are located among the most outstanding of their class; and Condé Nast Traveler ranked the country 15th among the world’s best destinations.

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» FEATURE

Photos: Mexico, Brazil and China

Mexico's loss of competitiveness is due primarily to two factors: Increased competition and unsatisfactory public policy. New forms of competition have to face the emergence of new destinations like Malaysia, which saw 140 percent growth over the last decade; China, which grew by almost 80 percent, and India and Brazil, which are big competitors of Mexico because of their low prices. On the public policy side, we do not believe that environmental impact and urban planning have been monitored appropriately, and the authorities have neither incorporated nor tried to adapt to international standards. Above all, policies for this industry are out of step with current trends.

Among these trends are tourists that value sustainability more and travel more frequently but for shorter periods, due to the availability of low-cost carriers and a change in lifestyles. Finally, the study also shows the importance of digital tools for travelers, where perception is gaining weight in tourist decisions while the official image of destinations becomes less relevant.

Proposals

Without leaving aside the importance of public investment in tourism development, we should bear in mind not only the construction of hotel zones but the development of the destinations themselves. We are also aware of the significant progress that has been made through actions like creating a Tourism Consulting Council and a New General Law on Tourism, however, at IMCO we believe that in order to attain a more competitive position, our country needs to follow a strategy based on four pillars: 1. Support the transformation of the National Trust Fund for the Development of Tourism (FONATUR).

To do this, we suggest that the Fund invests in world-class infrastructure to interconnect tourist destinations whose development concept is in accordance to the principles of conservation, improvement and socialization of their cultural and natural assets. Thus, FONATUR must guarantee better urban planning in every destination according to current and future trends in the industry. Concretely, we suggest that FONATUR: 16

• Promotes strategic investments in infrastructure to interconnect destinations.

• Provides financing that is conditional for municipalities that: adopt compact urban developing standards; recognize the autonomy and relevance of urban decision-making by the Urban Development Planning Institutes (IMPLANES); and prepare of a plan to ensure water supply and waste collection, among other basic aspects for the healthy development of destinations.

• Evaluates the impact of its investments through an external appraiser.

2. Increase competition in the air transport market by deregulating airline policy.

To be successful, this strategy must be well-designed through bilateral agreements among countries, and it must specify the routes to be opened and the aircraft that will be used, to guarantee competitive conditions among the airlines of the various countries. This would ensure greater connectivity and diversification of tourists, particularly beneficial for destinations that live entirely from air traffic, like Los Cabos.

3. Promote the adoption of international tourism standards.

To do this, the government should offer tax incentives, official recognition, training, create information about the advantages of certification, and design procedures for indicating the steps that must be followed to obtain certification for both destinations and for the establishments that participate in the industry.

One example of the how important certification has become is Huatulco, the first Latin American destination to be certified

by EarthCheck. Huatulco applied these international standards to its sanitary landfill, the creation of a recycling center and the training of more then 1600 employees in the industry. The results have been a reduction in energy consumption per www.amdetur.org.mx

» ARTÍCULO

person and in Greenhouse Effect Gases (GEG) emissions, from 3.6 to 2.4 metric tons of carbon (equivalent) per person between 2003 and 2010.

4. Redesign tourism promotion and provide greater flexibility to local governments for choosing the media and type of promotion that best suits their needs.

We propose investing in the digital promotion of Mexico's 20 most popular tourist destinations by using digital tools to sell experiences, and thus, not only providing relevant and high-quality information, with a design that represents each destination, but adopting best practices to encompass more languages, including online events, maps and reservation systems, and an active presence in social media and in all types of mobile devices. Finally, local governments should be given more power to decide on how to allocate the resources for their promotion. ◄

Without leaving aside the importance of public investment in tourism development, we should bear in mind not only the construction of hotel zones but the development of the destinations themselves.

rODRIGO gALLEGOS

Rodrigo Gallegos Toussaint is Director of Technology and Climate Change at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, where he has worked on projects like the first agenda for information technology industries "Vision Mexico 2020;" methodologies and policies for measuring competitiveness and promoting the Mexican tourism and agricultural industries; and all the projects related to the climate change and renewable energy agenda. He is a columnist for the daily newspaper El Economista and publishes as a special guest in Foreign Affairs, Este País and Expansión. He is also part of the Board of Experts for Sustainable Urban Development in Mexico City, the Fulbright Council, and the Mexican Initiative for Renewable Energy and Leaders for Green Growth (EGADE).

Before that, he was advisor to the Social Cabinet of the Mexican Presidency, a consultant for the United Nations Development Program in Asia and Financial Researcher at Banco de Mexico. He has a Masters degree in public policy from Harvard University and an Economics degree from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).

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CECILIAZAPATA

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Tourism Cares Tourism Cares (TC) is a non-governmental organization based in Canton, Massachusetts that is supported by the United States travel industry. The organization’s Board of Directors represent an array of travel and tourism leaders and experts that together bring forth the philanthropic passion and commitment of the travel industry to preserve and enhance the travel experience for future generations by protecting and restoring valuable destinations and to support these destinations as engines for prosperity, civil society, and pride in their communities.

By Juan Luna-Kelser / Adjunct Professor of Tourism, School of Business, The George Washington University

Notes 1. Since 1999, grants have been given to 178 organizations in 42 states and 31 countries, and more than 2,650 volunteers have donated over 23,000 hours of service to protect natural, cultural and historic sites in need. www.tourismcares.com

Tourism Cares’ domestic programs focuses on industry-wide volunteer events, capacity building for the nonprofit stewards of tourism sites, and scholarships and mentoring to support a talented workforce1. Globally, its recent efforts include corporate social responsibility partnerships, strategic investments, and advocacy and education across the travel industry.

In 2012, Peru was selected as its first global outreach (GO) initiative, bringing together travel and tourism enterprises and leaders from both the US and Peru to form Turismo Cuida, a new non-for-profit organization that mirrors Tourism Cares successful model of social and environmental responsibility.

This joint effort created a US$160,000 grant program, which is aimed to fund sustainable tourism projects focused on the preservation of Peru’s rich cultural and natural heritage.

To continue its mission at the international level, Haiti was also selected as a destination to boost the tourism industry in Northern Haiti through a partnership between Tourism Cares, the Clinton Foundation, the Tourism Association of Haiti (ATH) and the Haitian Ministry of Tourism. Together, they launched the

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» SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Northern Haiti Tourism Coalition with $10,000 grants from each organization to focus on capacity-building projects needed to manage the expansion of tourism to Haiti’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the National History Park of Citadelle/ SansSouci/ Ramiers. This joint project will help bring focus to the Citadelle as well as new developments in Haiti Tourism in the Northern Region, and evolve into a longer-term collaborative tourism development program that will help revitalize Haiti’s tourism sector.

Mexico has been selected by Tourism Cares as the next sensible country to explore, given its geographical contiguity to the United States (“shared destiny”) and based on the following facts: (i) the U.S. is Mexico’s largest trading partner and largest foreign

investor, and Mexico is the third largest U.S. trading partner and second largest U.S. export market2; (ii) the U.S. is the top outbound travel market for Mexico3; (iii) the top inbound travel markets for the U.S. are Canada and Mexico4; (iv) corporate social responsibility (CSR), as well as domestic donors and their philanthropic activity is exponentially rising in Mexico5; and (v) there are serious initiatives to accomplish collaborative philanthropic efforts between the U.S. and Mexico with the aim to promote social transformation in Mexico by strengthening civil society organizations and engaging youth.

During the month of September 2013, Tourism Cares commissioned a rapid and exploratory assessment of the

Citadelle of Laferrière / Haiti

Mexican tourism industry CSR programs to determine if, among Mexican tourism companies, similar advocates could be found to potentially collaborate around best corporate philanthropy practices between the US and Mexican tourism industry. Based on the results, it has been determined that the Mexican travel and tourism industry is currently embarked on a positive path.

Moreover, the extent of CSR policies, programs, models and philanthropic foundations that are in place, although presently at various stages of understanding there is ample evidence that there are serious committed business organizations pursuing the goal of integrating social responsibility into their core business. There are sufficient models and interest on both sides of the border to foster a US-Mexico corporate dialogue and

2. U.S. Department of State, US–Mexico Relations, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35749.htm.

3. At the end of 2011, Mexico received a total of 23,4 million non-resident tourists. Out of this total, 18,5 million were citizens of the United States, which represents 79.28% of the total market share of international arrivals (Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics. Data 2007-2011. UNWTO 2013, Edition: p. 467).

4. At the end of 2011, the US received a total of 21,3 million Canadian visitors (34.02% of total international arrivals) and 13,4 million Mexican visitors (21.5%). In March 2013, non-resident visits from Canada increased 11 percent while visits from Mexico grew five percent in comparison to 2012 (Sources: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics. Data 2007-2011. UNWTO 2013, Edition: p. 809; and Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI) – September 19, 2013 News Bulletin. Department of Commerce.

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Machu Picchu / Peru collaboration around corporate philanthropy and volunteerism, which would contribute to a better understanding between the two industries.

The identified mechanism that could facilitate the dialogue and collaboration could be through the aegis of the USMexico Foundation6 with the support of the Centro Mexicano de Filantropía (CEMEFI), Alianza por la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (ALIARSE), Fundación ADO, Fundemex, the Schools of Tourism and Philanthropy of the University of Anahuac, as well as the International Institute of Tourism Studies and Institute of Corporate Responsibility from the George Washington University.

Partnering with these institutions to organize a CSR and Philanthropic bilateral forum would allow sharing CSR and travel philanthropic best practices and lessons learned between the two tourism industries. To pursue this opportunity, additional meetings will be necessary, as well as further communications with other supporting institutions, including Mexico’s Tourism Secretariat (SECTUR). The final outcome is to ensure that both the US-Mexican travel and tourism industries continue to strive towards the attainment of incorporating social responsibility into their respective organization’s to ensure that their performance will contribute to the sustainability of healthy ecosystems, social equity and good organizational governance in their respective societies.◄

Juan Luna-Kelser is currently Adjunct Professor of Tourism for the School of Business at The George Washington University, Washington D.C., USA, where he teaches in the Tourism Masters degree and works on investigation programs for the International Institute of Tourism Studies. He specializes in sustainable tourism and has experience in planning, designing and managing projects in an international level, after 30 years of professional labor in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). He works with bilateral agencies and multilateral institutions of international funding such as The World Bank, as well as with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) for various tourism projects. One of his most relevant contributions was to join together and manage the team of experts who developed the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, promoted by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). He holds Masters degrees in Tourism Management and in Political Science. He is originally from Mexico City and is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese. juanlk@gwu.edu

Juan Luna-Kelser

5. According to the 2nd Edition of the 2013 Co-Responsible yearbook, CSR in Mexico is improving and growing dramatically, especially over the last 13 years. In 2012, 65% of Mexican companies surveyed indicated that they were more committed to integrating CSR into their core business than in 2011.

In addition, more emphasis was placed on community involvement and development and the environment than the other core areas that address CSR within a business organization 6. The US-Mexico Foundation is a U.S. based 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to carrying out philanthropic efforts in the U.S. exclusively for Mexico through strategic grant-making in the areas of education, health and economic/community development and civil society engagement, with a particular emphasis on youth.

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