MMIP 2012 - (Page 18)
VALUABLE PARTNERS
Preparing for an event at Expo Buganvilias
Meeting planners discover one of Mexico’s best resources to help take the guesswork out of guaranteed program success.
The task of planning a meeting or an event can seem daunting, but it can seem especially out-of-reach when that responsibility takes you out of your home turf and into another country. “What many people don’t realize is that they have an entire team behind them,” says Bridget Chisholm, president of BCC Planning, Inc., in Washington, D.C. As conference manager for the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE), Chisholm reached out to the Mexico Tourism Board’s Washington, D.C., office for help. “They introduced me to the convention center contacts and other key contacts in a range of destinations and arranged site inspections to candidate cities including Mexico City, Merida, Guadalajara and Cancun,” says Chisholm. Beginning at the top with the Mexico Tourism Board, and the hands-on professionals in Mexico’s nine U.S. and Canadian tourism board offices, the Mexico Tourism Board acts as a connector to link planners with Mexico’s pro-active destination Convention and Visitors Bureaus, specialized suppliers and venues across Mexico. They also work with Mexico MPI, SITE, PCMA, and HSMAI chapters to assist in providing information and resources to create exceptional conventions, meetings and incentives. “Having a one-stop shop benefits planners by giving you a better understanding of the geography, infrastructure and scope of all Mexico, and to get to know the differences between the resorts, cultural cities and metropolises as meeting and incentive destinations in order to make a better booking choice,” explains Eduardo Chaillo, CMP, CMM, Meetings Industry Executive Director for the Mexico Tourism Board. And it doesn’t matter if your program is large or small. In planning the 12-member International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) board of directors meeting in Mexico City, John Tanzella, association president and CEO, said the assistance he received was invaluable. “The Mexico Tourism Board worked closely with us and put us in contact with the local LGBT leaders in Mexico City who knew what our group would like, and helped us with what to see and do.” Amelia Ballinger was impressed that the Mexico CMP delegates “spontaneously formed a host committee and acted as a welcome group” when the 2011 CMP Conclave was held in Cancun, the first Conclave ever held outside the U.S. or Canada. “They went out of their way to say ‘welcome to our country’ and to let us know they were here, not only as attendees, but to be information sources,” says Ballinger, who is the Conclave’s meeting manager. Chaillo explains: “It’s all about educating, informing, connecting planners with the right suppliers, sharing resources, bringing options to the negotiating table and showing our diversity, attractiveness, accessibility and affordability – this is how we benefit planners.” The bottom line is that Mexico’s meeting industry works together to make a planner’s job easier, the program seamless and your clients overjoyed so that they’re ready to return to Mexico next year. Plus, you get kudos for a job well done.
18 VALUABLE PARTNERS
www.visitmexico.com
http://www.visitmexico.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MMIP 2012
Here and There
Face to Face
Valuable Partners
Meeting Resources
Centers of Attention
The Right Stuff
What to Do
Mexico's Cooking
Baja California
North
Central
Gulf/Isthmus
Mundo Maya
Mexican Caribbean
Pacific Coast
Mexico Meetings Hotels
MMIP 2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/mmip2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/mmip2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/mmip2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/mmip2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/mmip2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/worth/mexico/mmip2011
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com