Taking on New Adventures

Being new to the business of meeting & event planning, I was shocked to receive and invitation from the Mexican Tourism Board for Tianguis Touristico, their annual expo for tourism in the country, so early in my new job and career. My boss was totally cool with me going and said it would be a fun trip that would give me great contacts. So I accepted and this past week found me in Mazatlán, Mexico.

Mazatlán is along the Pacific Coast, in the state of Sinaloa. Meeting planners from around the world and some contacts from the tourism office in Mexico were part of my group. We were wined and dined on top of scheduling meeting after meeting to hear about the various options throughout the country for hosting meetings, conferences and incentive trips. It’s a whirlwind of fascination on top of seeing and learning about a new part of Mexico that I was unfamiliar with.

First, about the conference: if you are a travel agent, meeting or events planner, or someone who handles any portion of those businesses, this is the trip you need to be on. Tianguis Touristico offers a look at everything Mexico has to offer, from airlines that operate in the country, hotels, Destination Management Companies, convention centers and others to showcase what seems like every option available in Mexico. Every state and every region has representation at this convention and while the scheduled appointments are overwhelming and often difficult to actually attend in a timely fashion, when you do sit down with the exhibitors, they are excited and passionate about what they are presenting and really make you think about hosting your event in their location.

The expo is beyond. It’s beyond description. It’s beyond expectations. It’s beyond what the photos and videos show. It’s just BEYOND! The booths are elaborate and a lot of thought and design (and money!) was put into almost every one. From the food, vino, cervezas and entertainment that represented each booth’s region, I would dare you to try and find another tourism expo that does it better. To say I was impressed is a vast understatement.

As part of the hosted buyers group, we were shuttled to several different locations to have meals and presentations along with meetings outside of the appointments at the actual expo. Then there’s the food. OMG the food! It was absolutely amazing. I would not have ordered many of the dishes had I been given a menu and I’m so glad everything was already planned out. It really allowed me to try things I would’ve never tried before.

So here’s a rundown of our very busy few days:

Sunday: Checked into the hotel, had some lunch while my room was getting ready and was able to shower and change before meeting with our group to head to the welcome event. We boarded the bus and got stuck a few times in the downtown area of Mazatlán due to some unexpected road closures. We finally made it to the location for the welcome dinner and were ushered through a security check before being shown to our table along the Malecon, which is the boardwalk along the ocean. They had a beautiful set up of tables and bars and we had a fabulous 5 course meal with wine and cocktails before the President of Mexico, who was dining at the same event, was recognized and said a few words. The symphony played and we were treated to a shorter (26 floats & dancing groups) version of a traditional Mazatlán Carnival parade. It was outstanding! The night ended with one of the best fireworks displays I’ve ever seen in my life. We left around 1030pm and walked to the busses to head back to our hotel.

Sleep didn’t come easy as my room overlooked the street and the band from the nightclub was so loud that I thought they were in the room next door. But it’s Mexico and I chalked it up to the fun of the event. Plus, I was so tired that I was able to sleep some, so that was good.

Monday: We started the day with a private breakfast and presentation by our hotel, theLocal Mazatlán, in their new salon area. The food was great, with fresh fruit and lobster and spinach crepes, and we were able to tour the board room options in the hotel while learning about this new chain of hotels that are worldwide. We also had a brief presentation by the Mexico tourism board about the gains the country is making in business and tourism in all parts of the country.

We bussed our way to the International (Convention) Center and missed our first scheduled appointments since the traffic was so bad. After a few hours of meetings, we met up to head to lunch (230pm. They eat late here!) at one of the El Cid hotels. The lunch was in a great room that looked like a pergola that overlooked the ocean. Again, we were treated like royalty. They assigned seats for us and left some seats open so that the staff from El Cid were able to sit next to us and talk about the hotel chain. It was a nice touch and I was fortunate enough to sit by Manuel, who runs the hotel’s social media. He was such a joy and had some great stories of how they really marketed the small chain in Mazatlán.

A highlight of our lunch, outside of the outstanding food that featured octopus tacos and swordfish cooked to perfection (which is a recurring theme here, to be honest) was the entertainment. The musician playing during lunch was absolutely amazing and I could kick myself for not getting her name. She played popular songs in a very lounge-type way with her keyboard and guitar. It was really outstanding.

After our lunch, we headed back to the International Center for a few more meetings. I was able to talk to a few people I wanted to and while others weren’t at their booths, got in a few additional meetings with hotels that were very productive.

We made our way back to the hotel for an hour and then met up to head to the cocktail party in the middle of Mazatlán. This event wasn’t really my scene as there were very few places to sit and it was more crowded than what they planned for. So my newfound friend, Laura, and I grabbed a taxi to the hotel and popped into the bar next door for a few tacos before turning in for the night.

Tuesday: Our day started with breakfast at the hotel buffet before a speed networking event being held in the hotel. After two hours of 5 minute meetings with various CVBs and DMCs, we made our way back to the International Center for more meetings before our hosted lunch, catered by the convention center staff and a presentation by their sales team. The lunch, again, was amazing. I got lucky as the staff sat at my table, which allowed me to learn even more about the region of Sinaloa. It was really superb and I enjoyed the staff very much.

We did a few more meetings and then took a taxi back to the hotel a little early, since the busses weren’t running at that point. I was able to spend about 45 minutes at the awesome hotel pool and get in some chill time before showering for the party that evening.

We went to the El Cid Marina hotel and took a little boat to the island where the “pass the baton” party was being held. Acapulco is the host in 2019 and they promise to put on a fantastic event. We had some fabulous food that is native to the Acapulco area and witnessed a fantastic presentation by the city and region hosting next year’s Tianguis Touristico. We were able to leave around 930 and actually get some sleep after 2 full days of events!

Wednesday: The day started with me checking out of the hotel and heading with our group to the International Center for a breakfast with several of the Destination Management Companies (DMC) of Mexico. I really enjoyed this and got to learn a lot about the various regions of Mexico I was unfamiliar with. We were able to have an honest conversation about the perception of various areas of the country by the “average” American. I hope our feedback helped these fine people rethink some of their selling points and strategies and also assure them that there are many of us who would like to do business in the country. It was also great to hear about the different options for events and activities in the various regions. There’s really a great variety in Mexico.

We did a quick survey about our time at the event and a little shopping with some regional artists before boarding another bus for a tour of El Quelite, a small village about 35 minutes from Mazatlán.

If you are ever in this area, a day trip to El Quelite is a must. This village of about 2800 is truly remarkable and we were able to walk around and see all of the unique architecture and history of the village. We ended the day with a fantastic lunch of carne asada, pork, homemade corn tortillas (hello, I’m in Mexico. Of course they are homemade!), infused water with local fruit and other delicacies of the area. It was highlighted by one of the local bands that featured a 12 year old trumpet player who would be a star in New Orleans! It was one of the best ways to wind down the trip.

Before this trip, I only thought of Mexico as a place for a vacation. However, now, I will seriously consider pitching some of these locations to our clients at ARB as I believe the offerings of many of these regions of Mexico would be very attractive to them.