Darío Flota Ocampo General Director Riviera Maya Destination Marketing Office
In the meetings industry, destinations must always move forward
As the group travel market continues its slow but steady return to health, what will your destination be doing to remain competitive? We are creating a department specializing in the meetings seg- ment. The purpose is to start 2011 with new material, a new website section, and our participation in themain industry trade shows and related association meetings during the year.
What is your destination doing to help planners meet their goals for sustainability and corporate social responsibility? How have requests for assistance in these areas changed over the past few years? Riviera Maya is leading many projects inMexico focused on good environmen- tal practices. There are a lot of opportu- nities to contribute and interact withlocal communities to support their develop- ment while preserving their cultural her- itage.We are glad to recommend activities related to local sustainable initiatives.
What, in your opinion, will be the top destination-selection criteria for meeting planners during the coming year? Do you expect this to change in 2012? Value is the answer. Meeting planners have to be sure that every dollar spent represents the best investment and guarantees the achievement of the goals of the event. Destinations must make sure to offer these kind of assets in order to be considered a reliable partner. This trend will continue during 2012.
If you could turn back time, would you choose to go back to the dominant way of doing business in and the general business environment of 2007? In this business, we are always called to move forward. Some conditions will never come back and we need to incorporate them only as part of our background expertise. Circum- stances are always evolving, and we need to be part of the evolution and be prepared to offer creative solutions.
84 pcma convene January 2011
How are younger CVB and meeting professionals changing the industry? Which of these changes do you appreciate, and which would you prefer didn’t happen? As always, new professionals add their energy and enthusiasm to their actions, motivating everyone to stay tuned up in this age of fast changes. This is always positive,while assuring that the industry continues being productively updated. The only aspect I miss is the attitude of some hotel executives when they were service professionals instead of financial executives, as they have become nowadays.
What innovations in the realm of social media/networking and technology in general will your destination be pursuing in 2011 and going forward? Riviera Maya has a very active presence in social media.We are improving this presence to be in accordancewith the dif- ferent marketsweserve. Thismeans using not only different languages, but oper- ating in different time zones in order to make real connections with people.
How has attendee behavior
changed over the past two years? Do you find that attendees are enjoying certain aspects of your destination that they didn’t before? Dueto the cuts in budgets reducing social gatherings and events, attendees have more free time and the possibility to explore the destination, discovering what it has to offer in terms of gas- tronomy, culture, activities, and shopping. Before this trend, most of the event’s attendees only visited the local airport, their hotel, and one or two venues, making it difficult to really get to know and feel the destination.
NO LOOKING BACK: “Circumstances are always evolving,” Darío Flota Ocampo said, “and we need to be part of the evolution.”