By Jorge J. J. Martínez
Alejandro Ramírez Tabche is the current president of el Consejo
Mexicano de la Industria de Reuniones (COMIR,
or
the Mexican Meetings Industry Council). He has more than 30 years of experience in
his two biggest passions: traveling and bringing people together.
“Mexico is a marvelous destination and we must revive the
international market. It will take months to do so but we can see it happening;
this business is about future sales, and reservations for 2023 are promising,”
announced COMIR’s president.
Mexico has in place all biosecurity protocols, assured Alejandro,
and is among the most successful in the world in that area. Other promising
data show that MICE-related businesses are hiring again.
Objectives: Creating a digital barometer and better public
representation
Mexico has been a pillar of development for the MICE industry in
Latin America and will be once again with the Digital Barometer Observatory
that COMIR is developing.
“The Digital Barometer Observatory is a project that we are
vigorously championing and we will without a doubt complete it. We are well advanced
with respect to data and data processing and we are monitoring this constantly
in an opportune and digital fashion,” stated Mr. Ramírez Tabiche, whose term
ends in August 2022.
Another important function of the council is the representation
and integration of all members of COMIR with the public and private sectors.
“I believe that we are fulfilling this function in an important
way; we will now have a presence in Mexico’s Parlamento Abierto along with CNET, establishing political representation
and expressing the needs and demands of the MICE industry,” assured Alejandro Ramírez.
Mexico
is definitely recovering
Lastly,
Alejandro said that he is positive that Mexico is recovering. Before the
pandemic, tourism represented about eight percent of the GPD, or Gross Domestic
Product (of which MICE represented approximately 1.3 percent); today that
number hovers around six percent.
“The
reality is that this industry is very generous; we must put all our efforts into
the market. We had 24 difficult months, but without a doubt this industry is a
motor that drives the [economy of] the country,” concluded Alejandro Ramírez
Tabche.
El Salvador Is Ready for International Meetings and Events
Boris Iraheta, marketing manager for Corsatur, stated that El Salvador is ready to host international events.
Face-to-Face Meetings Resume Slowly But Steadily
The number of in-person events continues to rise, although these still contain virtual components.