Mexico and Canada. Is it time for Canada to lift Visa restrictions on Mexican visitors? Por supuesto que Sí!

In a rather quiet fashion, on June 29, 2010, Canada's Bill C-11, the Balanced Refugee Reform Act, received Royal Ascent and became law at approximately 5 pm that day.  This very important piece of legislation is a step forward to try and improve Canada's refugee system in order to provide protection and refuge to those who really need it and to dissuade those who make claims without merit from doing so.  Canada has had a generous refugee system for decades. The definition that has guided this system came from what is commonly called the Geneva Convention and it states: ""A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.." 

Bill C-11 aims to prevent abuse of Canada's refugee system by also implementing a Designated Countries of Origin policy. "The purpose of the Designated Countries of Origin (DCO) policy, the faster processing timelines and the identification of manifestly unfounded claims is to reduce pressure on Canada’s asylum system by deterring unfounded claims, thus contributing to a system that is able to provide faster decisions to those who are in need of protection." Canada Gazette  It is expected that countries like Mexico will be one of these Designated Countries of Origin. Without saying as much, Prime Minister Harper implied on more than one occasion that once Canada fixed its refugee claims system, Canada would look at the issue of visas for Mexican tourists.  Recent articles and editorials in the Globe and Mail have called for the government to revisit the Mexican visa issue and lift the requirement.  The government now has the tools to control and reduce bogus refugee claims.  As other commentators have rightly pointed out, Mexico is Canada's third largest trading partner and part of the North American Free Trade Agreement. More than 2,000 Canadian companies have operations in Mexico. 

Mexico is also a strategic country for Canada in relation to its Latin American foreign policy.  Ever since the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Canadian governments have paid lip service to increasing ties with Latin America. I join those who are calling on Prime Minister Harper to put some meat (ie resources) into his own stated desire to improve relationships with the countries in the Americas.  Mexico is the best starting point for Canada's Latin American policy. Over 1 million Canadians visited Mexico in 2010, despite the image problems caused by the war on drugs in that country.  Less than 200,000 Mexicans visited Canada in 2010 as a direct result - not of the visa requirement per se - but rather because of how difficult and involved the process to get one is.  If more than 13 million Mexicans visit the USA annually (with visas) - surely Canada can receive 1/2 million visitors from Mexico every year!  By the way, only Canada surpasses Mexico as top international market for the US when it comes to tourism.  

It's time for Canada to lift the visa requirement for Mexican visitors (or at the very least revisit what is required to obtain a visa and how fast it's done). 


Saludos,


Jaime Horwitz Rodriguez
www.cactusrock.com 

Are American Hispanics the new American Reality and the biggest opportunity for Canadian Tourism?

Guy García, a former Time Magazine staff writer and founder executive director and editor of AOL Latino, recently wrote a piece on the Huffington Post blog entitled "Are Hispanics the New American Reality? Claro que Sí! But Will They Get their Own Museum? Quien Sabe."  García focuses on the still growing Hispanic population in the US and the differences and similarities among the various groups of Hispanics, e.g. Mexican or Colombian and American, or Latino, black and Nuyorican - the various ways in which Hispanics describe themselves. Seen as a market, if the Hispanic population in the United States was a country, it would be the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world, after Mexico. The purchasing power of the US Hispanic population hovers around the 1 trillion $ mark.  García comments on a video produced by the Hispanic/American TV company Univision, in which we are told that Hispanic babies account for 25% of all babies born in the US every year, that in many US places Hispanic children account for 50% of all children. The numbers are impressive: Hispanics will account for 95% of the teen population growth through 2020. And so on.  The article addresses the debate happening in America as to whether Latinos should have their own Latino Museum in Washington, DC or not.  But that's a political issue. The reason I invite you to read the article as well as to see the video (embedded at the end of this post) is to consider the potential of this market for Canadian Tourism. A population of 50 million Hispanic Americans who do not need a visa to visit Canada surely must be of interest to you, if you are in the Canadian Tourism industry.  

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While many Hispanic Americans do visit Canada, we don't know how many because StatCan figures do not distinguish between white Americans, Indo Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans or Hispanic Americans, etc.  Intuitively, I think we are not getting as many US Hispanic visitors as we could.  Marketing to US Hispanics requires a specific focus on sub-markets and zeroing in on those that would be more prone to travel to Canada. The US born Hispanic population is, as Mr García rightly points out, "increasingly bilingual and bicultural" and "multicultural and multifaceted...they watch MTV3res and True Blood, they listen to rap, rock and Mexican banda, sometimes in the same song. Recent studies have shown that Latino identity is malleable, contextual and constantly evolving. Younger Latinos in particularly see no contradiction in calling themselves Dominican, American and black, or Caucasian, Hispanic-American and Colombian, or gaysian, blaxican, or any other racial-cultural-sexual amalgam that fits their nationality, genealogy, sexuality and mood."  And then there's also the non-US born Hispanic population which is also very diverse in income, language preference and education. 

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The key to marketing to Hispanics in the US, in addition to segmenting the overall market and zeroing in on your best prospects, is understanding their bi-culturalism. Your message must be tailored accordingly, but two things to remember as a basic starting point: 1) Hispanics love (need) to have fun and 2) family is paramount.  These 2 points are reflected in their travel habits. Being a Hispanic Canadian, I can attest to these points, but don't take my word for it.  One study by the Tourism Center at the University of Minnesota (with data from the 2006 US Census) found that 33% of Hispanic trips include children under 18 and that the majority (77%) of Hispanics report travelling for purposes of leisure.  And from the US Travel Association we have this little tidbit: "The Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. is expected to reach 47.8 million by 2010 or 16 percent of the total population.  By 2050, the Hispanic/Latino population is projected to total 102.6 million, comprising 24 percent of the U.S. population.  In 2007, there were an estimated 16.2 million Hispanic adult leisure travelers who took a combined 50.4 million domestic and outbound trips and spent $58.7 billion on their travels. (Source: Profile of Hispanic/Latino Leisure Travelers, 2008 Edition)."  We now know that in 2011, the US Hispanic population is more like 50 million. Regardless of the exact number, the point I want to emphasize is that Canada is uniquely positioned as a tourism destination to attract a substantial number of Hispanic American travelers simply because we are next door, they don't need a visa to enter Canada, and we have fantastic tourism product for them.

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But don't forget Mexico, the rest of Latin America and Spain...(next blogpost)

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Saludos,

Jaime

www.cactusrock.com 

www.canadamigos.com

The impact of tourist visas on the Mexican inbound market to Canada and marketing to emerging markets.

On this morning's edition of the Globe and Mail, respected columnist and opinion leader, Jeffrey Simpson writes: "It's no wonder Mexicans feel aggrieved. How long does it take to get a visa? One part of the Canadian government website in Mexico recommends applying 30 days in advance; another part suggests six weeks." SIX WEEKS! Do we think that Canada is such a compelling must-see destination that we expect travelers to set aside 4 to 6 weeks just to get a visitor's visa? And that's just the time. I have stories from Mexican friends, relatives and clients about the visa application process that read like a surreal, magic-realism tale. But they're not funny to the operators or the travelers who should have received visas, but didn't (hiring a Canadian immigration lawyer to argue on behalf of the traveler or tour operator, is not worth the cost to any of the parties in these cases, so a visa rejection stands and there's no recourse to fight it).

Simpson: "Want a tourist visa? Here's a sampling of what's required over and above the usual passport and photo: a signed letter from your employer granting a leave of absence and specifying your salary (In French or English only, as Spanish will not be accepted!); original bank documents showing your financial history over the past six months; recent pay slips (a business owner must submit proof of the past three years' income tax statements); evidence of assets in Mexico; evidence of precious travel (previous passports)." These requirements appear to be a legacy of permanent residency applications (I would know because I came to Canada as a legal resident and went through all the paperwork). A tourist should not have to go through all these hoops to visit a destination. Americans, who have been issuing visitors visas to Mexicans for decades have a very efficient system to do so (in Spanish). Why not emulate them? Why not accept American Visas as proof of tourist worthiness?

The economic impact of Canada's visa imposition on Mexican tourism to Canada has been devastating for those Canadian (and Mexican) businesses that serve the inbound Mexican tourism market. Mr. Simpson goes over some calculations to get an idea of the impact in dollars. However, longer term, the numbers are harder to calculate, but are certainly up there. ("And how does one measure the drubbing that Canada's reputation has taken in Mexico, especially when senior Mexican officials, including judges, have been refused visas!")

Mr. Simpson quotes Prime Minister Harper referring to the issue of the visa at the top of his article: "This is not the fault of the Mexican government...This is a problem with Canadian refugee law, which encourages bogus claims." If this is so, then logic would dictate that it is the Canadian Government's fault that many Canadian tourism businesses, including mine, are suffering badly because of this decision. The prorogation of Parliament doesn't help, but I am not holding my breath in regards to refugee system reform. Being a sovereign country, Canada could determine what nationals can apply for refugee status and what nationals could not (a similar model to the British system) thereby blocking Mexican refugee claims and allowing the hundreds of thousands of law abiding Mexican travelers that wish to vacation in Canada (or used to want to anyhow) to come here as before. But I am not naive (rhetoric notwithstanding, Mexico is not really that important to Canada). Refugee System reform will not happen anytime soon, if at all, so, in my case, I am looking at other sources of income or another area of endeavour (not sure Canada's Economic Action Plan covers my case).

The way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if the Canadian Tourism Commission downsized in Mexico or closed down its office altogether in a year or two.

One thing to keep in mind as Canada markets our country as a tourism destination in emerging markets (developing countries) is that all these potential visitors in India, Brazil, China, will require visitors visas to enter the country. How many visas can the Canadian Government process in each of these countries in any given year? The answer to that question gives you the maximum number of tourists per year you could expect from any of those markets.

Mr. Simpson's article in the Globe and Mail: While Mexicans fume, our reputation and revenues take a hit

Jaime Horwitz Rodriguez MBA

www.cactusrock.com

Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada addressed the Mexican Senat

December 8, 2009, Mexico City, United Mexican States

It gives me great pleasure and is an honour for me, as governor general of Canada, to speak in a Chamber that is so essential to democratic life in Mexico, especially this year, as we celebrate 65 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries.

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I would first like to mention the unshakeable, willing and unparalleled ties of friendship that have developed over the years between our people and our institutions. It is certainly no secret—and I am proud to say—that Mexico holds a special place in the hearts of Canadians.

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Moreover, our commitment to increasing security, improving prosperity and promoting democratic values across the entire hemisphere make Canada and Mexico key partners. It is vital to the well-being of our respective peoples that we work together to fight the threat of sophisticated, organized crime networks that have spread across the entire continent with their illegal activities. I am referring especially to the trafficking of people, narcotics and influence, and to the corruption, money laundering and violence that are ravaging our communities. In order to succeed, we must join efforts and establish joint strategies because, as we all know, the situation is extremely serious.

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This willingness to strengthen hemispheric cooperation is, in fact, one of the cornerstones of Canada’s foreign policy and we salute the efforts you are making along these same, promising, lines. We must be bold and build on the dynamic relationship between Canada and Mexico, and this in a number of important aspects of society.Not only are we major trading partners, thanks to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, but we have also implemented innovative mechanisms, such as the Canada‑Mexico Partnership, launched in 2004, to promote co‑operation and dialogue in such areas as investment, innovation, agribusiness, housing, the environment, human capital development, energy, and labour mobility.

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Moreover, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, which has been in operation for the past 35 years and allows us to receive temporary workers from Mexico, is seen around the world as a model with a great deal of promise. This State visit is an opportunity for us to explore new areas for co-operation and partnership in order to diversify our investments and business activities. We can certainly do much better and we must double our efforts and stretch our imaginations.We also share a commitment to multilateralism and maintain a productive dialogue within several international organizations, such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the G-20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development.

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There are so many opportunities for us to build on our existing solidarity at this pivotal moment in our collective history, as we face a major crisis of values, one that we cannot reduce solely to its financial component and that demands that we redefine an ethic of sharing and hemispheric responsibility in this era of globalization. In addition to these many ties are nearly 400 agreements between universities and several studies centres and programs that promote academic exchange and an improved sharing of knowledge between our two countries.

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I would say that the same excitement and exuberance can be found in the cultural ties forged between the creative minds of our two countries and of which our peoples are so fond. As proof, we need look no further than the programming at the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, one of the largest artistic gatherings in Latin America and one of the largest multidisciplinary festivals in the world, whose 37th edition, which ended last month, featured several Québécois artists. Our artists share that desire to increase the opportunities for collaboration and to enrich the cultural diversity that distinguishes our histories and lands with their unique contributions.

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We are delighted because, like Octavio Paz, we believe that “[a]ll cultures are born out of mingling, meetings and clashes,” and, as he warns us, “[c]onversely, civilizations die from isolation.”

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And it is precisely from a desire to highlight the close ties that bind us that my husband, Jean‑Daniel Lafond, our delegation and I will be going out to meet with the people and organizations that form the backbone of Mexican society—from entrepreneurs to students, from non-governmental organizations to decision-making bodies, from artists to women’s associations—here in the centre of the country and in Chiapas, in Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal de las Casas.

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I like diplomacy on a human scale and our dearest wish, in a reinterpretation of Carlos Fuentes’ beautiful phrase, is to work together to ensure the continuity of a few ideas over time.

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It is therefore in this spirit of solidarity and fellowship that we begin this State visit in Mexico, with an unwavering willingness to remind our respective populations that we are brothers and sisters, in spirit and in heart, and with the hope of creating new opportunities for co-operation.

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Thank you very much for offering me this special invitation to address you and I wish long life to the strong, cherished friendship between Canada and Mexico!

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And I would like to extend our best wishes for your happiness and prosperity as we approach the bicentenary of the Mexican War of Independence and the centenary of the Mexican Revolution!

(source: Office of the Governor General of Canada, www.gg.ca)

International inbound tourism to Canada in July took a big dive

Not surprisingly Mexican inbound tourism to Canada was down 39.4% in July compared to July of last year. This decline was directly related to Canada's imposition of visa restrictions on Mexican visitors on July 15. It will take some time for Mexican numbers to recover to pre-visa requirements. My best guess is two to three years provided we continue to market Canada in a creative, engaging and effective way to Mexicans, positioning the country as a premium destination. (There is a faint hope that the Government of Canada will implement reforms to the Refugee System in which case visa requirements for Mexicans might be lifted - at least that's what I infer from Prime Minister Harper's remarks after last August's NAFTA Summit in Guadalajara). Even with the visa issue, Mexico surpassed Japan by almost 30,000 visitors in the period from Jan to July.

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So that's Mexico. But what about the rest of the world? Well, according to StatCan's International Travel: Advance Information Service Bulletin for July 2009, all markets where down, some significantly in July. Spain was an exception with growth of 1.5% (Greece and the Philippines also showed growth)

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Compared to July 2008 these are the dismal figures for July 2009:

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UK - down 19.5%

France - down 5.1%

Germany - down 1.5%

Australia - down 4.8%

Japan - down 35.4 %

China - down 17.8%

Hong Kong - down 24.5%

India - down 7.9%

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For the period between January and July 2009 only the Philippines and SPAIN show growth. I am not sure why the Philippines shows growth, but for the first 7 months of this year Phillipines is up 13.5% (40,197). It may be mostly VFRs (visiting friends and family), but it would be interesting to find out what kind of visitors come from that country. As for SPAIN, it showed growth of 2.3% for the same period (40,075 visitors). For some time now, I have been saying that SPAIN can be a great market for Canada. I believe that with the right investment in marketing and trade relations, we could easily reach 200,000 to a quarter million Spaniards visiting Canada every year (just look up how many Spaniards visit New York City annually to get a better grasp on that country's potential). Spaniards, as you may know, do not require a visa to visit Canada as tourists (and it's very unlikely they will ever need one). When it comes to airlift, there aren't many direct flights between Spain and Canada, but there are multiple connections from Europe.

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And the USA? Well, it just continues to slide. Visits from the US where down 11.3% in July compared to July 2008 (biggest declines were seen from same day Americans visitors (-24.6%) and Americans coming by bus (-23.8%)

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Wishing you all a recovering Fall season and a come-back-from-behind 2010.

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Jaime Horwitz

www.canadaenespanol.ca

Canadian Tourism is getting hammered. What are you doing about your destination or business?

Because the tourism industry is a very fragmented one and employment is spread over hundreds of thousands of businesses, from large hotels to small burger joints along Ontario's Highway 400, to beds & breakfasts in Cape Breton to soft adventure outfitters in the Yukon and so on, it's an easy industry to ignore. It's not like a big automotive plant closing and laying off 2,000 people at a time which gets the attention of unions, the media and consequently the politicians and society at large. In tourism there are thousands of jobs lost when small kayak rentals operators, small receptive operators, restaurants, and others fold. Many thousands more go unreported as lost jobs because businesses froze hiring this summer and thousands of young people who otherwise would have been employed in the industry were not. The lack of jobs concentration makes it difficult for the media to write stories about the problem. And of course, we could also do better integrating all the voices of tourism across the country (Join the Canadian Tourism Community social networking site).

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Notwithstanding the above, the industry made the front page of today's Globe and Mail. The natonal paper reports that "Cross-border travel hits lowest levels on record. New passport rules prompt 26% drop in same-day trips from U.S. to Canada in June." But that's just part of the story. According to StatCan's International Travel: Advance Information Bulletin for June 2009, just about every market, primary or otherwise, was down in June and most are down significantly for the period Jan to June. And this after what was perhaps the worst May on record as well. If the year continues going this way, 2009 may see half the numbers of tourists Canada had in 1999! While it is undeniable that the last ten years have seen numerous challenges for the Canadian tourism industry, in my opinion, there are other reasons why the numbers of visitors continue to tank, one being the lack of impactful, creative marketing and advertising. The reasons for this are debatable and one reason must be, of course, a lack of sufficient resources, but another, again in my opinion, is the lack of risk taking to make our marketing and advertising break through the clutter. I believe provincial and national tourism marketing is hindered by a playing it safe mentality so as to not create any controversy (I again think of advertising in America's Super Bowl). If I sound frustrated is because I am. I believe Canada can do much better selling itself to the world (and to ourselves). And when marketers like Rod Harris leave a DMO (or are ousted), it gives me less confidence in the powers that be. By any measure of success in marketing, Rod Harris is indisputably is one of the best tourism marketers in the world (but I think even he was limited by the political considerations that sometimes - like it or not - come into play in Canadian Tourism marketing).

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On a final note, I am happy to report that of all our European markets, the ONLY one that is showing growth in the period from January to June 2009 is SPAIN. Gracias amigos españoles , Olé.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.

The Canadá en Español Network

www.canadaenespanol.ca

http://twitter.com/jaimehorwitz

Canada top of mind among Mexican travellers, but less competitive.

"The spirit is willing, but the wallet may be weaker. That’s the message from the latest Global Tourism Watch report for Mexico, released by the Research department of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC). Canada boosted its performance on a number of unaided indicators in 2008, making it the No. 1 destination brand in Mexico in those criteria: destination awareness, advertising awareness and destination consideration." CTC

The Canadian Tourism Commission conducted the survey for its latest report on Mexico in 2008 so the effects of the Global Recession, the H1N1 scare, and mostly Canada's visa imposition do not show in the results. What I have observed in the last several months via my network of websites, my tour operator client in Mexico and the continuing growth of the CanadAmigos Social Networking site where I have direct contact with a large number of people is that Canada is still a desirable destination for Mexicans, albeit a more expensive one. One of the byproducts of the visa imposition to Mexicans is that their travel to Canada went up in cost anywhere from 5% to 10% or more (short term visits like a long weekend escape may not be worth their while now). This has to do with the cost of obtaining a tourist visa (temporary resident). A single entry visa costs CAD $75 per person (multiple entry visas cost $150 per person). If a couple buys a package that cost them $1,100 per person before the visa, they now have to pay 6.8% more for the same package (not counting any courier costs, etc.) While many people were able to switch dates for their trips to Canada the first week after the imposition (July 15th), I know that many changed their plans and chose to go to the States instead. At the present time, Canada has become less competitive in Mexico vis a vis the US and other destinations like Spain and South America.

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Jaime

Was it the H1N1 (Swine) Flu? One of the worst Mays ever for Canadian Tourism.

One can only hope that the summer will bring good news to the Canadian Tourism industry, although so far hope is not enough. In the midst of the busiest month for canadian tourism, the Government of Canada imposed visa restrictions on Mexico putting a damper on what looked like a good month. Statistics Canada just published its International Travel: Advance Information Bulletin for the month of May, 2009. Before, I go to the numbers, let's remember that May was the worst month for the H1N1 Flu issue, which may very well have affected travel world wide. It certainly hit inbound numbers from Mexico as Mexicans who might have wanted to visit Canada that month decided to stay home, lest they found themselves quarantined in a foreign country.

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May 2009 will go down as one of the worst months for the canadian tourism industry in recent memory. All markets were down compared to May 2008, with very few exceptions. On a positive note United States inbound was down only 1.5% (although it is important to mention that air travel from the US to Canada was down a whopping 15%, while overnight automobile was up 2.6% and trains, boats and other modes was up 9.2% - what this may mean is higher yield American tourists are staying away). For the period between Jan and May 2009 US inbound was only down by 2.8%.

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Travel from Europe to Canada was down 15.9% in May and down 10.6% for the period Jan-May.

Travel from Asia to Canada was down 24% in May and down 11.8% for the period Jan-May.

Travel from North, Central America and Caribbean - down 21.9% in May and -8.9% Jan-May.

Travel from South America to Canada was down 13.9% in May and negative 4.5% Jan-May.

Travel from Oceania and other islands to Canada - down 20.2% in May; down 11.9% Jan-May.

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Overall overseas inbound tourism to Canada for the period Jan to May 2009 was down 10.5%

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Let's hope that domestic tourism helps the industry this summer. Let's hope that the LocalsKnow campaign is generating great results.

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Jaime Horwitz

From TIAC and Transport Canada - changes will allow more flights from Mexico

"Canada's Government Designates More Canadian Carriers to Serve Mexico Canada's Transport Minister, John Baird, announced June 25 changes to air designation allocations for scheduled Air Canada, Air Transat, WestJet and Sunwing air services between Canada and Mexico, which will benefit travellers and our country's tourism industry.

"This is excellent news for our tourism industry. Mexico is a growing market for Canada," said Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism. "There will now be more routes to take visitors to the spectacular destinations and attractions our country has to offer."
"Increased air access to Canada for the growing Mexico market is an important development that is a good step in meeting the tourism industries needs," said Randy Williams, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada."

For the full release visit Tiac.Travel's TIAC Talk June 26

Inbound numbers are in and it's not pretty (not too ugly either).

Canadian tourism inbound numbers are out and reflect the extent to which the global recession is affecting us. US visits, not surprisingly continue to slide, even though there was some improvement in February compared to January. However, compared to February 2008, US visits were down a further 4.6% Most international markets showed declines. The UK was down a whopping 20.9% compared to February 2008. Germany is holding well with a 1.6% increase from February last year. China and India, in particular, showed increases. Mexico was down 9.2% compared to February 2008, but Spain was up 7.1%. Comparing February 2009 to February 2009, the overall picture tells a sad story, albeit not totally unexpected: USA - down 4.6%, Europe - down 9%, Asia - down 15.9%, North America, Central America & Caribbean - down 3.5%, South America - up 2.2%, Oceania & Other Ocean islands - up 0.1%.

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Source: Statistics Canada International Travel: Advance Information bulletin

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Jaime

Spring is coming. deMexicoaCanada.ca is out of the gate promoting 20 trips from Mexico to Canada

deMéxicoaCanada.ca, the travel product site of the Canadá en Español Network is promoting 20 group and fit trips from Mexico to Canada for the Spring and Summer Season. Abiega Operadora de Viajes is Canadá en Español's client/partner/tour operator in Mexico responsible for fullfilment. Packages this year run the gamut of experiences, from a Fly and Drive in Vancouver Island to Exploring the Rockies to the staple Ontario and Quebec circuits. Trips are concentrated in the four big provinces with a presence in the Mexican market, i.e. British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, which begs the question, where are the rest of the Canadian provinces when it comes to the Mexican market? While the 2009 season may be softer than last year's due to the global economic downturn, Canadá en Español expects decent results based on traffic and inquiry levels to deMexicoaCanada.ca. The Easter Holiday should give more of an indication of what the summer may bring. The Mexican peso has appreciated in the last few weeks which should also help.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Canadian tourism INBOUND numbers for 2008 are in. Mexico and Spain showed healthy growth.

Statistics Canada published its International Travel: Advance Information bulletin for December 2008 and the Jan-Dec 2008 period. Overall international visits to Canada were down 9.9% compared to a year earlier. No surprise here, US visits were down 12%. Europe was up 2.5% though stalwart United Kingdom was down 6% for the year (a sign of the economic downturn). French inbound tourism was substantially higher (at 12.2%) mostly due perhaps to Quebec's 400th Anniversary year. Asian inbound was down 3.2% mostly because of Japan's continuing decline. The House of the Rising Sun sent 16.4% less tourists in 2008 than in 2007 and is now close to losing its place to Mexico. Mexico, while showing signs of weakness in December (it was down 10.5%) grew 8.1% in 2008. Mexico was only 16,371 visitors away from trumping Japan as the 4th most important overseas market for Canada after the UK, France and Germany. Spain, by the way, held up very well considering the economic issues. Spanish inbound grew by 12.9% in 2008, breaking the 75,000 visitors to Canada mark for the first time. India, by the way a market the CTC has announced it will enter, was up 9.3% for the year.
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Jaime Horwitz MBA
www.canadaenespanol.ca

Canada en Español quietly but proudly turns 10.

Last Wednesday January 28th, I was surprised by my wife and daughter with a sort or surprise dinner. I drove to the restaurant so it wasn't a total surprise there. We went to Frida a new Mexican restaurant in the Eglinton - Allen Road area of Toronto. The restaruantl is small and elegantly understated, not a garish touristy Mexican resto, but rather a new kind of Mexican restaurant that is growing in parts of North America. This new kind of Mexican restaurant serves nouveau mexicain cuisine, that is dishes based on authentic Mexican cuisine but stylized for an international clientele. Frida is just a few months old, so it's early to say whether it will succeed. The food was fine, though not outstanding (especially given the prices). Service was very friendly, but not quite professional. I'll give them sometime before I decide whether I should recommend Frida. For now, I will stick with Milagro (corner of Mercer and John St's downtown Toronto).
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But I digress. The surprise was not the restaurant. My wife and daughter remembered that I launched Canada en Espanol ten years ago on January 28, 1999. Being so busy lately I had forgotten about the anniversary. They gave me a very touching card and we had a grand time. Canadá en Español began with one website that January and 60,000 online visits (more or less) in 1999. It has grown to 21 consumer sites (including the BlogdeCanada and the social media site CanadAmigos) with traffic in 2008 reaching about 2.5 million visits. In 2009 I am having several of the sites overhauled to make them more contemporary and to add more value to advertisers and partners. Also, Iexpect Canadamigos to do quite well. It has grown to almost 3,000 members and almost 10,000 visits per month. While we may see a softening in the market due to the global economic recession, I believe that inbound Hispanic tourism to Canada will continue to grow significantly in the next five to ten years mostly because Canada is still a very new destination in those markets and we have a myriad of places and activities to offer Hispanic travellers.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA
twitter.com/jaimehorwitz
Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.

Are you ready, sitting down? Inbound numbers for September 2008 are out. Mexico and Spain inbound to Canada continue to Grow!

Statistics Canada just published the International Travel: Advance Information Bulletin for September 2008. Not surprisingly there was a notable slowdown in travel to Canada. The current global economic environment is hitting travel hard all over the world. US visits were dramatically down in September, down 18.5% compared to September '07. The troubling financial situation in the UK was reflected with a decline of 9.8% in UK visitors compared to last year. Pleaseantly surprising France and Germany were up with 14.7% and 6.2% respectively. Quebec's 400th Anniversary celebrations are credited for the stellar performance of the French market this year.

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When it comes to Hispanic inbound markets the two big stars saw continued growth. Mexico was up 8.8% in september and still showing double digit growth for the year to date (11%). Incredibly, Spain, where there is no official Canadian Tourism marketing whatsoever, and at a time when Spain is also experiencing economic difficulties, sent us 13.9% more tourists this past September than in the same month last year. For the period Jan to Sept 2008, Spanish inbound is up a remarkable 15.2%. Olé!

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Saludos,

Jaime Horwitz MBA
www.canadamigos.com

I love Fashion and so do millions of Hispanics around the world

I am doubly busy this week because I am personally covering Toronto's L'Oreal Fashion Week for my Spanish language blog and www.blogdecanada.com and my social networking site, www.canadamigos.com. Fashion is very important to Latin Americans and Spaniards. Especially women, although men also like to indulge in a certain sartorial eloquence. Rare is the Latin or Spanish tourist who travels and does not purchase clothes (except of course those on a limited budget like the backpacker crowd, but even them will rather buy a new pair of jeans than pay for a hotel room). Part of Canadá en Español's mission is to educate my fellow Spanish speaking travelers about great things we have in Canada besides the obvious attractions like the Rockies and Niagara Falls. While we don't yet have truly global fashion brands, we do have great fashion talent in Canada and the Toronto and Montréal Fashion Weeks prove it.

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In the last two days I have seen fantastic Spring 2009 collections starting with Alfred Sung's White Collection, which opened this year's Fashion Week. Today I saw a great and sexy women's fashion collection by rising star Jason Meyers and a splendidly elegant swimwear collection from Aqua di Lara's Reyhan Sofraci.

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Cheers,

Jaime

It's that time of the month. StatCan's Advance Travel Information numbers for August 2008 are out. USA? Still down. But Overseas doing very well.

Statistics Canada released inbound tourism numbers for August 2008. Not surprisingly, inbound from the US continues to decline. Since August 2001, visits from the US have dropped approximately 50%, a staggering number, that's about sixteen million less visitors.

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While not making up completely for lost US visits, Overseas inbound markets continue to do rather well, except for Asia, where Japan also continues to drop (down about 30% since 2001). All regions showed growth except Asia which saw a drop of 3.2% in August compared to August 2007.

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The Stars

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What single country showed the highest growth rate in August 2008 compared to the same month last year? Mexico? Good guess, but no. Mexico slowed down a bit this past August growing only 4.4% (11.2% Jan to Aug). The UK? Not at all. The UK is showing signs of stress. It was down 7.3% compared to Aug 2007. Germany? Nope. While it did well growing 6.1% this past August, Germany is not the big star. France you say, it must be France. Good guess, given all the promotion and publicity there generated by Quebec's 400th Birthday. France grew an amazing 30.7% in August. But no, it was not France. The country that showed the biggest percentage increase in inbound tourism to Canada last August was SPAIN. Spaniards are taking a liking to Canada. It must be word of mouth and online properties like CanadaenEspanol and CanadAmigos, since very little marketing is being done there by Canadian tourism organizations. SPAIN grew a staggering 31% in August 2008 compared to August 2007. While the absolute numbers are not huge. This is just a signal of what future numbers could be. SPAIN can become another Mexico for Canadian Tourism if enough Canadian Tourism organizatons get together to market our destinations properly. Canadá en Español (Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.) is forming an alliance with a Destination PR and Marketing firm in Madrid in order to offer cost accessible PR, Marketing and sales representation services in Spain.

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Olé
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Jaime Horwitz
www.cactusrock.com
www.canadamigos.com

Jaime Horwitz with his daughter Madison in Ronda, Andalucía, Spain. Summer 2005

Conclusion of the Travelocity - Howard Johnson zaga

In my next to last previous post I related the extremely frustrating experience of trying to help the Mexican Shotokan Karate team who were booked in the wrong city (Brampton) last week (the booking was fone over the telephone and not online - the phone agent recommended the HJ in Brampton, obviously not knowing how far from downtown it is). The team came to Toronto to compete in the World Shotokan Karate Cup at Ryerson University in downtown Toronto. Brampton is about 40 kms from downtown Toronto, a very long trek in rush hour. After hours on the phone we were able to get them moved to a Howard Johnson hotel in Toronto not far from Ryerson. In the end it took several calls (over four and a half hours) to Travelocity and the Howard Johnson hotel to straighten things out. Needless to say, the team has no plans to ever book travel with Travelocity again. On the bright side, they were able to enjoy the city of Toronto on their spare time and went home with three gold medals and three silver medals.
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Jaime

Canadá en Español happy to help the Mexican Shotokan Karate Team with a hotel mixup

The past couple of days I played the role of "cruise director" of sorts to the Mexican Shotokan Karate team (in photo), in Toronto to compete at the World Shoto Cup taking place at Ryerson University this Thanksgiving weekend (over 20 countries participating). I have known Alvaro Ruiz, Black Belt Fifth Dan and one of the head coaches, for many many years (we were karate buddies in our youth). What was supposed to be just a friendly reunion last Wednesday with Canadá en Español hosting the team (treating them to some sightseeing in Toronto, etc.) turned into a mission to help the team fix a major hotel mix-up. One of the members of the team made their reservations by phone with Travelocity in Texas (interesting insight into another way Mexicans are booking travel to Canada). The assignment was to book a flight and hotel in Toronto for the team of about 20 competitors and coaches at the least expensive price. According to the person who booked the trip, the agent in Texas recommended the Howard Johnson's hotel saying it was in an accessible location to downtown Toronto at a very reasonable price. Problem is, this particular hotel is not in Toronto but in Brampton, Ontario. Big mistake. The Karate tournament starts at 8 am in downtown Toronto. Brampton is about 30 miles away from downtown T.O. How were these people going to get there on time over the course of four days? The cost of transportation alone makes staying in that hotel expensive. Furthermore, there's really nothing to do or see in Brampton for these visitors after the daily competitions. I made several calls to Travelocity speaking to agents and finally to a supervisor. I was very pleased with their attitude and service realizing that their agent made a mistake in the first place by recommending a hotel so far away from the tournament. Travelocity did the right thing, and while the team had to spend last night in Brampton they will be staying at the Howard Johson's in the Yorkville area of Toronto very close to Ryerson University and the tournament. They will be able to sightsee and shop after hours and will certainly have a great time. So kudos to Travelocity for doing the right thing and making the necessary changes to the team's reservations.

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From a Canadian Tourism perspective I find it very interesting that these travellers called Travelocity in Texas instead of calling a local Mexican travel agent or going online. It is an example of the variety of ways Mexicans are booking travel to Canada. I am also encouraged to see that if Mexicans have a reason to travel to Canada, even if they don't have a lot of money, they will do everything they can to make that trip. This is encouraging at the moment, given the global financial crisis that is also affecting Mexico by devaluing the peso. I am confident we will see good numbers from Mexico this coming December, albeit not as good as last year's. As for tthe Karate team I wish them the best and hope to see some of them in the finals on Thanksgiving Monday. Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
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Jaime
www.demexicoacanada.ca
www.canadamigos.com
www.cactusrock.com

deMexicoaCanada.ca out of the online gate promoting Winter travel from Mexico to Canada

deMexicoaCanada.ca (http://www.demexicoacanada.ca/), a Canada en Espanol website, was created to promote Mexican tour operators' products from Mexico to Canada. It currently features Abiega Operadora de Viajes' various packages from Mexico to Canada. 23 packages were promoted for the Summer and Fall seasons and it over 15 packages for the December Holiday and Winter seasons have been released. deMexicoaCanada.ca can also be reached via de .com, .com.mx and .travel domain extensions. The site log about 20,000 online vists monthly. This season deMexicoaCanada has also debuted on Facebook to take advantage of hundreds of thousands of Mexicans using the famous social network site.

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deMexico a Canada packages cover a wide breadth of packages for various segments of the Mexican traveling public. There are escorted and FIT packages available to British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. Missing from the mix is the Yukon because unfortunately last year's Northern Lights package has been switched to northern Alberta.

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Cheers,

Jaime

Mexican Inbound to Canada up 11.3% in July up 12.6% YTD. Spain up 14.9% in July 9.4% YTD. The USA inbound continues to plummet!

StatCan just published the numbers for inbound tourism to Canada in its International Travel Advance Information Bulletin. Inbound Tourism en Español continues to grow amidst global economic uncertainty, proof that Hispanics around the world are very interested in visiting Canada. Mexico, the star in this space (mostly due to the fact that it's the only Hispanic market where Canada is spending substantial marketing dollars), was up 11.3% this past July compared to July '07. For the period Jan to July 2008 Mexico is up a decent 12.6%. Spain, a relatively new market where very little marketing is being done (although Canada en Español has been generating Spanish Web traffic for years), and where the economy is not doing great, was up by 14.9% in July and 9.4% from Jan to July. Spanish speaking South America was up 5.4% for the first 7 months of the year compared to 2007.

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Belgium, Denmark, France and Sweden are also performing quite well for Canadian Tourism all showing double digit growth in July 2008 compared to July 2007.

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However, all these gains as great and welcome as they are do not make up at all for the continuitng decline in American visits. The numbers are critical and something must be done. The US market is still the biggest market for Canadian Tourism other than Canada itself. It represents billions of dollars for the Canadian economy, billions that have been dissappearing like sub-prime mortgages. US inbound was down a further 11.2% in July and 13.1% lower for the period Jan to July compared to 2007. TIAC has pointed out that our industry is on the verge of crisis. The fact is that many tourism businesses are in crisis or shutting down because of the downturn in US visitations, a problem that has been growing since 1999. Where are we going to find new American tourists? My answer: the US Hispanic market, a market of 40 million plus people.

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saludos,

Jaime Horwitz MBA
www.canadaenespanol.ca

www.canadamigos.com