The big numbers start with geography. Combining 3,145 land miles with another 2,381 miles along water, the 5,526-mile U.S.-Canada boundary is the world’s longest undefended border. The U.S. and Mexico, meanwhile, share the world’s busiest border, which runs just shy of 2,000 miles across four American and six Mexican states.
These international divides also represent connections, based on common ground, shared heritage and cultural diversity, that add up to huge potential and opportunity for U.S. planners.
Vividly portrayed in the Canadian Tourism Commission’s (CTC) online 2012 meetings, conventions and incentives booklet (“Canada: Where a full business day is more than a day full of business”), the nation’s 10 provinces and three territories offer limitless diversity.
“Canada is the second-largest country in the world and you never need to repeat an itinerary,” says Michele Saran, executive director of MC&IT for the CTC. “So keep exploring!”
Away from headlines that measure Mexico by its border problems, our neighbor to the south continues to register remarkable meetings industry growth—such as an estimated 2.9 million meetings-related visitors in the first quarter of 2012 alone.
Against pressures such as the Eurozone crisis, contraction from overseas markets and high fuel prices, each nation is investing in affirmative messaging, new infrastructure, innovation and other means to enhance their already strong standings on the international meetings scene.
Canada
Meetings, conventions and incentives delegates represented 23 percent of all U.S. travelers to Canada in the first quarter of 2012, or 426,000 of the nearly 1.7 million arrivals in that time period. That’s a gain of 7.4 percent over a year ago, following the 5 percent lift in U.S. group business from 2010 to 2011.
“Our strategy for attracting MC&IT business for 2013 and beyond is to truly focus on the business aspect of the equation versus taking a purely tourism angle,” Saran says. “We want to position Canada as a center of excellence for several industry sectors and become a true partner in assisting corporations and associations to get the most out of meeting in our country.”
Canada is a G8 member and has the world’s 10th-largest economy. Led by manufacturing, services, natural resources and technology, Canada is strong in sectors and related subsectors of areas such as financial services, biopharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery and equipment manufacturing, and food processing. PageBreak
Trading an estimated $1.6 billion a day in goods, the U.S. and Canada enjoy one of the closest and strongest bilateral relationships in the world. With some 300,000 people crossing between the countries every day by all modes of transport, this relationship supports millions of jobs in each country. The U.S. is Canada’s largest foreign investor, while Canada is the fifth-largest foreign investor in the U.S. and its largest foreign supplier of energy.
“We have a strong 22 percent share of outbound U.S. MC&IT groups, which makes Canada the top international location for this business,” Saran says. “The largest proportion of meetings business tends to go to Ontario, while convention business is evenly split between British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario.”
In terms of challenges, the U.S. and Canada have taken steps to resolve issues regarding pharmaceutical and medical meetings business.
“In the past, the U.S. allowed some sponsorship of meetings using drug brand names, but Canada did not,” Saran explains. “The Americans have now tightened up their own rules, resulting in a more level playing field for this lucrative market.”
Working in conjunction with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada and Rx&D (the organization that creates and monitors the rules and ethics that govern the Canadian pharma industry), the CTC has created a comprehensive document on how to understand the Canadian pharma code and how to bring a medical meeting to Canada.
Innovation and R&D are also major gearwheels in the Canadian economy. This October, the Canadian government announced funding of $121.6 million in support of cutting-edge research at 42 Canadian post-secondary institutions.
New investment also features on the convention center front. Following the 2011 debuts of convention centers in Niagara Falls, Fredericton and Ottawa, two other destinations will soon introduce convention centers: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (summer 2013) and Halifax, Nova Scotia (early 2016). Meanwhile, the Quebec City Convention Centre expansion is slated for completion next summer.
Additionally, major upgrades and expansions are taking shape at Edmonton International Airport and Vancouver International Airport in Richmond.
“From large, vibrant cities for meetings or conventions to awe-inspiring resorts for team-building events or incentive programs, Canada always provides more than you’re looking for,” Saran says.
With a full U.S.-based team, the CTC is ready to assist planners with every aspect of planning, including researching locations, providing assistance with customs and tax rebates, and oftentimes helping with the cost of airfares for qualified site inspections.
“Seeing is believing,” Saran adds. “Over 80 percent of meeting planners who experience the Canadian product firsthand book the business.”PageBreak
Mexico
In 2011, 23.4 million international travelers visited Mexico, breaking the record previously set in 2008 and exceeding 23 million for the first time in history. The figure for 2011 represents an increase of 5 percent on 2010, a 9.3 percent increase on 2009, and a 3.4 percent increase on 2008, which was Mexico’s historic benchmark for international tourism.
These remarkable figures appear to establish that in the face of legitimate ongoing concerns over drug-related violence—official visitor warnings from the U.S. and Canadian governments included—Mexico’s acknowledgment of the problem and danger areas while communicating its overall stability as a group and leisure destination is paying off.
“Mexico is pursuing a bold diversification strategy, highlighting a wide range of attractions beyond sun and beach and appealing to a broader range of global travelers,” says Eduardo Chaillo, the Mexico Tourism Board’s executive director for the meetings industry. “From strong connectivity and fiscal incentives to incredible diversity of destinations and cultures, Mexico is an affordable, accessible and culturally sophisticated place to host a variety of events.”
As U.S. planners are increasingly discovering, Mexico’s meetings infrastructure continues to evolve alongside its product and service levels. Value and accessibility remain major advantages, including lower prices, tax breaks including zero percent VAT on meetings, exhibitions and conventions organized in Mexico by foreign companies, and frequent direct airlift from most major U.S. cities.
Now offering over 57 major convention and exposition centers across the country and close to 500,000 rooms in more than 3,100 luxury hotels, Mexico, strongly supported by its government, saw a 25 percent increase in world congresses from 2010 to 2011. While 2012 figures are not yet available, this rise moved Mexico to 20th in ICCA rankings for 2011 by number of events, and 16th by number of attendees.
Continued growth and improvement are strategic priorities, as Mexico leverages recent major events such as the G20 Meeting in Los Cabos and associated B20 and T20 meetings in Cancun and Merida, respectively. Mexico also hosted the first ever World Travel & Tourism Council Americas Summit in the Riviera Maya, and the World Congress of Chambers of Commerce in Mexico City.
“This year, Mexico had the opportunity to show the world what we have to offer,” Chaillo says. “These global events demonstrate Mexico’s infrastructure and prowess across a variety of destinations and meetings sectors.”
At roughly three times the size of Texas, Mexico’s tapestry of geographies, ecosystems, cultures and climates provides seemingly limitless options for planners, including a staggering 29,000 archeological sites and 31 UNESCO World Heritage sites, the most of any country in the Americas. However, while much of Mexico is not covered under U.S. and Canadian travel advisories, the ongoing violence at or near the border naturally means that planners should diligently research their intended destination, while employing good judgment and common sense once there.
In addition to recently launching a website for planners (www.visitmexico.com/meetings), the Mexico Tourism Board continues to have a strong presence at major industry events such as IMEX America, while also hosting an ongoing program of educational trips for U.S. planners.
“We look to continue this momentum in the coming years, appealing to a wider global audience,” Chaillo says.
Jeff Heilman routinely covers Canada and Mexico for Meetings Focus.
