Mexico Brand Stays on the Rise in the US with Strong Spending in 2017

Although the Tourism Promotion Council of Mexico (CPTM) has slashed its budget by almost 35% this year, the country’s spending on tourism promotion abroad will increase by 41% to 1,125 million pesos. Eighty percent of it will be allocated to “priority markets” such as the US, where it appears to have opted to strengthen its ad spending during 2017.

In 2016, Mexico sought to attract visitors with its Live it to Believe it campaign, which helped to increase the influx of international tourists by 10%. Between 2014 and 2015, the number of tourists increased from 29.3 million to 32.1 million, with economic revenue rising from $16.2 billion to $17.5 billion.

In the second quarter of this year, the name of the campaign was changed to A world of its own, and will continue to target men and women (47% and 53%, respectively), with annual revenues of more than $314,000, according to information obtained via official transparency data.

Of all foreign visitors to Mexico, 60% come from the United States and 10% from Canada. The main states that receive travelers are Mexico City, Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Baja California, Jalisco, Nayarit, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guanajuato, said Juan Alberto Muciño Abrego, CPTM’s Marketing Coordinator.

The Mexican government also promoted campaigns aimed at different niche markets, such as romance tourism, with México, Yes I do; and nostalgia tourism, targeting the Latin market, with Mi México. Promotion has also extended to business meetings, with water sports and golf also used as a travel hook at high-impact events such as the OHL Classic at Mayakoba on the Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo; the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico City; and the Mexico Regatta Cup 2014 in Nayarit.

Mexico currently ranks third as best Latin America country brand, after Argentina and Brazil, according to Future Brand Global’s Latin America Country Brand Report 2015-2016.

Mexico currently ranks third as best Latin America country brand, after Argentina and Brazil, according to Future Brand Global’s Latin America Country Brand Report 2015-2016.

The table below shows which platforms Mexico advertises on to promote the country in the U.S., along with the amount invested in each media outlet.

From 2015 to 2016, there was a strong drop in ad spending on traditional media. Investment in TV advertising fell from $4.9 million to only $443,902. However, it seems that tourism promotion spending will see an upswing in 2017. For this year, the amount has already climbed to $1.5 million and we are barely halfway through the year.

Investment in TV advertising fell from $4.9 million in 2015, to only $443,902 in 2016.

As for digital platforms, CPTM seems to have diversified less in 2016, distributing its spending among only a few sites such as YouTube, Teads, Nurun, IMS, Golf Digest, and Facebook. Will it set its sights once again on the OTAs in 2017, as it did in 2015 with Expedia, Price Travel and Despegar.com?

TV spending in the U.S.

Source: CPTM.
** As of March 2017, there has been no spending in online media for the US market

Spending in U.S. digital platforms

Source: CPTM
** As of March 2017, there has been no spending in online media for the US market

By Gabriela Gutiérrez M.

Images: @WeVisitMexico

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