Popular destination has reached 2019 levels of tourism, giving travel agencies opportunities to diversify sales and recover faster
Tourism inMexico has stood out in various ways during the pandemic. As one of the first countries to relax foreign entry rules, it became botha final destinationand also a transit destination for travelers who wanted to go to the United States but needed to quarantinein a nearby destination. This fact and otherfactors–likeborders openingearly anda strongerhospitality sector–made Mexico the first country to exceed the levels of tourism activity observed before the pandemic, according to theSkift Recovery Index , an indexin whichAmadeusparticipates. Mexico’s case can, in fact, teach some lessons and helpother countriesthatwant to recover tourism faster.
Additional data from Amadeusreinforces this promising news.In the third quarter, air searches to Mexico were 109% higher than in the same period of 2020, one of the highestincreasesseen around the globe, especially among countries with a large volume of travelers.
Cancun is the destination that currently attractsthe mosttourists, even more than the capital Mexico City, and showing growthfromthe country's average compared to the previous year: 130%. The third, fourth and fifth position among the most searched cities in the country were for Guadalajara, San José delCaboand Puerto Vallarta. The city with the highestyear-over-year growth in searches was Mérida (165%).
In absolute terms of the most searched routes, the leader is New York-Cancun, registering a 109% growth in searches in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same period of 2020. The “top5” is completed by New York-Mexico City, Mexico City-Cancun, Bogota-Mexico City,andChicago-Cancun. Among these, the one with the highest growth was the route between the Colombian capital and its Mexican counterpart: 384%.
Of course2020 was a year of crisis and we know that there is still a wayto go forfullindustryrecovery, but these numbers show that it is possible to see an improvement in the level of confidence of travelers and companies to accelerate the recovery and modernization of the industry.These numbers show that tourists all around the world are willing to travel and maybe only waiting for clearer policies and/or technologies on borders and health to book their tickets again.
It is interesting to note that the air search dataabovedoes not even reflect the fastest growing sector inthetravel industry these days. The SkiftRecoveryIndex is built from several datapoints, such as GDP, hospitality, car rentals, and traveler confidence. In the case of Mexico, the airline sector is still roughly20 percent below 2019 levels. However, the hotel industry has already outperformed the pre-pandemic comparison by more than 20 percentage points.
So, how did Mexico manage this and how can other destinations replicate this success?
One of the pillars of Mexico´s recovery is the diversification and strength of the Hospitality sector, globally recognized as the first tourism sub-segment to recover. Besides being hometomany reputed brands in places like Cancun, its hotel chains are among the onesthatinvest more in tech. In the middle of thepandemic,Grupo Posadas strengthened its relationship with Amadeus to attract international guests through digital media campaigns and other tools.
With a robust and multifaceted return, Mexico's travel industryisalready offering highly personalized services,with its travel agenciesacting as travel advisors and ensuring that the passenger experience is as seamless as possible.This, in the current pandemic times when information is crucial, has proven to be key for its recovery. Part of this success has been driven byinvestmentsin technology, toreapthe benefits of the digital transformation.
To ensurethat Mexico's travel industry continues to be a success story around the world,and alsoan example for other countries willing to make their travel industries stronger and more resilient in the future,agencies also must respond to the demands and speed that the industry asks for. This requires training and transforming agents into consultants, but also the use of robust technological tools for both bookings and data, in addition to the growing usage of automation concepts.At Amadeus, this would includeSelling Platform Connect andAmadeus Agency Insight .
Lastly, agenciescanmake the most of each sale generatedbyensuring thateveryair transaction is accompaniedbyhotels,carsor attractions,andmaximizingthe revenue generatedwitheach client.Given the faster recovery of the hospitality sector,travel agents can support this growth in demandbycross-selling,which will help improve their owncash flowin thesestill challengingtimes.
I amencouragedby the progress being made in Mexicoand hope that the future we aspire to will arrive sooner thanexpected, not only here butacross the globe.
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