By Jorge J. J. Martínez
Tourism and the Meetings Industry are constantly
evolving and adapting to this new normal. Vicky Marmolejo, a Mexican
businesswoman known worldwide for, among other things, her expertise in
attracting international conventions, is doing just that. She is a record
holder, having won 83 out of 93 bids submitted.
In addition to being a marketer, Marmolejo earned a
CEM from the IAEE. This prepared her for a 20-year career during which she
managed a convention center’s commercial strategy, created her own firm, M4M
(Meetings4Mexico), and became a business development representative for brands
such as Tourisme Montréal, Kenes Group (Latin America,) and RCD Hotels (Mexico
and the Dominican Republic).
She is a leader in the associative market, directing
the Mexican committee of the ICCA and more recently, presiding over AFEET
Quintana Roo. Her excellent management of the event earned her the “Inspiring
Woman” plaque, one of several awards received throughout her career.
It was during this last stint that she launched the
program “Cafecito con AFEET,” a project that soon evolved into
“Coffee Talks” once her participation with the association came to an
end.
Coffee
Talks with Vicky Marmolejo
“Coffee
Talks arose in response to the growth of our audience. People requested it and
out of loyalty to them we decided to partner with Industria de Reuniones and Meetings
Alliance to keep the communication going,” explained Vicky, who likes to play the violin
and practice boxing in her spare time.
A total of 43 programs with more than 3,000 minutes of
transmission were seen by 260,000 people in 67 countries, with the
participation of 112 guest specialists from 21 countries. During this period,
they addressed tourism issues in general, with a particular focus on the
evolution of the industry during this pandemic.
“We
want to jumpstart every Monday with a lot of energy and chat about all the
segments of Meeting Tourism. We’ll be inviting leaders from Latin America, the
USA, Europe, and the rest of the world to Coffee Talks,” said Marmolejo.
The goal is to provide information and debate on the
most important topics in the industry, such as reactivation, protocol models,
tourism product launches, marketing trends and destination promotion,
traveler’s healthcare, and much more.
“We are pursuing collaborations with the top
associations in the MICE industry—COCAL, ICCA, PCMA, MPI, and SITE, and other
leading global organizations—, for promotional alliances. I am confident that
this partnership with Sandra Reed and Tony Yarto will result in a synergy of
experiences that will be very useful for industry professionals,” added Vicky Marmolejo.
Coffee Talks will be broadcast live every Monday at 9
a.m. (Mexico City time), on the both the Meetings Alliance and Industria de
Reuniones Facebook accounts.
Passionate about the MICE Industry, social causes and female empowerment
Vicky is one of the women who emerged from the famous
“Lioness Group,” which revolutionized the role of women in the MICE
Industry in Mexico and Latin America and earned them recognition in the
recently inaugurated Museum of the Meetings Industry of Mexico (MIR).
“I was blessed to be able to evolve with these lionesses, we continue
to support each other so much that if we had a hashtag it would be
#growtocreate,” said the woman who draws her greatest inspiration and motivation from
her two daughters, Andrea and Victoria.
Dear Vicky, we look forward to the first edition of
Coffee Talks so we can continue to enjoy your enthusiasm and your talent and
above all, have the opportunity to continue to grow alongside our beloved
industry.