MERIDA — Mayor Mauricio Vila Dosal reported that Mérida received, for the first time, the certification “Destination CMS” (Certified Meetings Specialist), a Certification of Specialization in Tourism of Meetings. The designation results from specialized training received by 120 providers of tourism services promoted by the Directorate of Tourism and Municipal Economic Development.
(PHOTO: turitransmerida.com)
The company “Latin America Conventions” led by Fernando Compeán Martínez Sotomayor, leader and pioneer in the Mexican convention industry, allowed these service providers to train in depth in the understanding of the value chain of this tourism segment.
During the last six years, meeting tourism in Merida has gone from 13 annual congresses and conventions in 2012 to 26 in 2017.
Merida Mayor Mauricio Vila Dosal (Google)
The mayor explained that one of the motiviations of strengthening the training in this segment of the tourist industry is to take advantage of the economic impact of these visitors, whose number is increasing from 3,624 in August 2016 to 4,166 in the same period of 2017, which represents an increase of more than 16%.
About hotel income in the city, Vila estimated that it was about 531 million pesos in the first five months of the year. “This represents a 25% increase over the same period last year, equivalent to an additional 107 million pesos in these first five months,” said the Mayor.
Hyatt Regency Hotel, (Photo: Archive)
“Merida currently has 224 lodging establishments with eight thousand 503 rooms. This represents 65% of the total number of rooms in Yucatan, but Merida receives 86% of visitors to the state,” he added.
The certification is backed by the Intercontinental University, the Pan American Conference of Hotel and Tourism Schools, the Mexican Destination Marketing Association, Mexico City’s SITE (Society of Incentive Travel Executives), Mexico Association of Travel Agencies and the Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels, among others.
Source: yucatan.com.mx
