(Originally published in TOURISM)
There is no shortage of reasons why the Mexican market is very promising for Canada, according the CTC’s latest segmentation study. Outbound travel from there is growing with over 12 million outbound overnight travellers leaving Mexico each year, and Mexico’s importance to Canada as a source of visitors is increasing, explains Europe/Latin America executive director Sylvie Lafleur:
“After dipping in 2003, overnight trips to Canada rebounded in 2004 and grew by 9% in 2005. There were over 173,000 visitors from Mexico to Canada in 2005. Air capacity is growing and new direct flights are being added on a regular basis.”
To understand how the market is shaping up, the CTC has commissioned research based on three phases:
* Phase 1 (Secondary Desk Research) provided an in‑depth understanding of the Mexican outbound market;
* Phase 2 (Qualitative Survey of Travel Trade) involved 20 in‑depth interviews with key people in the Mexican travel trade, which provided valuable perspectives from key people who influence travellers;
* Phase 3 (Quantitative Telephone Survey) involved 2,500 interviews in total in the three largest cities in Mexico (50% in Mexico City and 25% in each of Monterrey and Guadalajara), targeting higher social strata (A/B or C+) and travellers (in the last three years) or intenders (in next two years).
This is a timely initiative because of emerging conditions that make Canada a good fit for Mexico, Lafleur points out: “Mexico is home to a growing segment of sophisticated, high‑spending independent travellers, and current knowledge suggests there is a strong match between Canada’s tourism products and Mexican travellers’ preferences, especially with shopping, sightseeing, activities relating to history and culture, national park visits and participation in winter sports.”
Moreover, economic signs coming out of Mexico are also encouraging, The country’s economy is expected to grow solidly over the next three years and consumer demand continues to rise at a healthy 4%. Add to this the stability of the current rate of exchange which is anticipated to endure over the coming months.
Mexican travellers tend to travel frequently, with interview respondents in the study report taking an average of 3.1 international leisure trips in the past 3 years. They clearly represent significant potential for international destinations, including Canada and our competitors. Interestingly enough, the propensity for leisure travel appears to increase slightly as travellers/intenders age.
While 70% of travellers have taken a leisure trip to US destinations in the past three years, Canada has attracted 18% of Mexican travellers. This is nearly as many as all European destinations (24%), of which Spain is the most popular (14%). A few Mexicans also travel to destinations in South America (8%) and the Caribbean (5%). It is worth knowing that other parts of the world attract very few travellers from Mexico. Canada attracts proportionately more visitors from the highest socio‑economic level and from Mexico City. Research shows that Ontario is the most frequently visited province among Mexican travellers to Canada. Quebec is a close second, attracting one‑half of Mexican visitors. BC attracts well over one‑third, followed by Alberta at 12%.
The Mexican market shines particularly when one looks at future intentions for international travel. Almost two‑thirds (65%) of respondents state they will definitely – or very likely – take a pleasure trip outside of Mexico and Central America within the next two years. This finding underscores the vibrancy of the market potential among affluent Mexicans.
Travel to Canada is more appealing among younger travellers (20 to 54 years of age) and among those who reside in Mexico City. European destinations tend to be more direct competitors in this age bracket; travellers report longer average durations for trips to Canada and to other parts of the world than they do for trips to the US. Family members tend to travel together when visiting international destinations, especially when visiting the US. There are also large segments of travellers from Mexico who travel alone (17%) or with friends (14%).
Many Mexican travellers take advantage of travel packages that include accommodation and airfare. This is more likely to be the case among those who have visited Canada (37%) or other parts of the world (31%), as compared to those who went to the US (25%). This reinforces the continued marketing of Canada using packages to make the destinations within Canada easier for Mexicans to select and book.
Respondents tend to prefer to stay in mid‑priced hotels (33%) or with a friend or relative (33%), luxury (21%) or resort (11%) hotels. A sizeable segment of the market is clearly willing to pay more for accommodations. Mexican travellers report spending an average of $5,072 CAD on trips for themselves and members of their immediate travel parties. Higher trip spending levels are reported for trips to Canada ($5,929) and to other parts of the world ($5,843) than for trips to the US.
“This is something that works in Canada’s favour,” according to Lafleur. “The US is not perceived as positively as other destinations for providing value for the money spent. Both Canada and other parts of the world, while less affordable to visit, are more positively perceived as providing value. Canada has an opportunity to strongly position itself against the US.”
Add to this the fact Mexican travellers associate Canada with enjoying downhill skiing or snowboarding (the US is a strong competitor), Canada evokes feeling safe and secure (Europe is the closest competitor), and Canada is viewed as a good place to educate children (Europe competes at this). Canada is also perceived as well endowed with places to experience beautiful, unspoiled nature (South America is the closest competitor).
The activities in Canada which generate the most interest are:
* Visiting major cities
* Seeing Niagara Falls
* World heritage sites
* Aurora viewing
* Seeing the Canadian Rockies
And, experiencing French Canadian culture is also a unique offering that appeals to many Mexicans.
On the marketing front, internet penetration among Mexican international travellers is very high at 84%, which supports the belief there is a high level of usage of the internet to research and book travel.
To capitalize on the Mexican market, the study points out that Canada needs a strong online in‑language presence, well‑developed relations with the travel trade sector, and a major influencer on destination selection. It will be important to strengthen Canada's image and awareness so that Canada is part of the consideration set early in the trip planning process.
There is no shortage of reasons why the Mexican market is very promising for Canada, according the CTC’s latest segmentation study. Outbound travel from there is growing with over 12 million outbound overnight travellers leaving Mexico each year, and Mexico’s importance to Canada as a source of visitors is increasing, explains Europe/Latin America executive director Sylvie Lafleur:
“After dipping in 2003, overnight trips to Canada rebounded in 2004 and grew by 9% in 2005. There were over 173,000 visitors from Mexico to Canada in 2005. Air capacity is growing and new direct flights are being added on a regular basis.”
To understand how the market is shaping up, the CTC has commissioned research based on three phases:
* Phase 1 (Secondary Desk Research) provided an in‑depth understanding of the Mexican outbound market;
* Phase 2 (Qualitative Survey of Travel Trade) involved 20 in‑depth interviews with key people in the Mexican travel trade, which provided valuable perspectives from key people who influence travellers;
* Phase 3 (Quantitative Telephone Survey) involved 2,500 interviews in total in the three largest cities in Mexico (50% in Mexico City and 25% in each of Monterrey and Guadalajara), targeting higher social strata (A/B or C+) and travellers (in the last three years) or intenders (in next two years).
This is a timely initiative because of emerging conditions that make Canada a good fit for Mexico, Lafleur points out: “Mexico is home to a growing segment of sophisticated, high‑spending independent travellers, and current knowledge suggests there is a strong match between Canada’s tourism products and Mexican travellers’ preferences, especially with shopping, sightseeing, activities relating to history and culture, national park visits and participation in winter sports.”
Moreover, economic signs coming out of Mexico are also encouraging, The country’s economy is expected to grow solidly over the next three years and consumer demand continues to rise at a healthy 4%. Add to this the stability of the current rate of exchange which is anticipated to endure over the coming months.
Mexican travellers tend to travel frequently, with interview respondents in the study report taking an average of 3.1 international leisure trips in the past 3 years. They clearly represent significant potential for international destinations, including Canada and our competitors. Interestingly enough, the propensity for leisure travel appears to increase slightly as travellers/intenders age.
While 70% of travellers have taken a leisure trip to US destinations in the past three years, Canada has attracted 18% of Mexican travellers. This is nearly as many as all European destinations (24%), of which Spain is the most popular (14%). A few Mexicans also travel to destinations in South America (8%) and the Caribbean (5%). It is worth knowing that other parts of the world attract very few travellers from Mexico. Canada attracts proportionately more visitors from the highest socio‑economic level and from Mexico City. Research shows that Ontario is the most frequently visited province among Mexican travellers to Canada. Quebec is a close second, attracting one‑half of Mexican visitors. BC attracts well over one‑third, followed by Alberta at 12%.
The Mexican market shines particularly when one looks at future intentions for international travel. Almost two‑thirds (65%) of respondents state they will definitely – or very likely – take a pleasure trip outside of Mexico and Central America within the next two years. This finding underscores the vibrancy of the market potential among affluent Mexicans.
Travel to Canada is more appealing among younger travellers (20 to 54 years of age) and among those who reside in Mexico City. European destinations tend to be more direct competitors in this age bracket; travellers report longer average durations for trips to Canada and to other parts of the world than they do for trips to the US. Family members tend to travel together when visiting international destinations, especially when visiting the US. There are also large segments of travellers from Mexico who travel alone (17%) or with friends (14%).
Many Mexican travellers take advantage of travel packages that include accommodation and airfare. This is more likely to be the case among those who have visited Canada (37%) or other parts of the world (31%), as compared to those who went to the US (25%). This reinforces the continued marketing of Canada using packages to make the destinations within Canada easier for Mexicans to select and book.
Respondents tend to prefer to stay in mid‑priced hotels (33%) or with a friend or relative (33%), luxury (21%) or resort (11%) hotels. A sizeable segment of the market is clearly willing to pay more for accommodations. Mexican travellers report spending an average of $5,072 CAD on trips for themselves and members of their immediate travel parties. Higher trip spending levels are reported for trips to Canada ($5,929) and to other parts of the world ($5,843) than for trips to the US.
“This is something that works in Canada’s favour,” according to Lafleur. “The US is not perceived as positively as other destinations for providing value for the money spent. Both Canada and other parts of the world, while less affordable to visit, are more positively perceived as providing value. Canada has an opportunity to strongly position itself against the US.”
Add to this the fact Mexican travellers associate Canada with enjoying downhill skiing or snowboarding (the US is a strong competitor), Canada evokes feeling safe and secure (Europe is the closest competitor), and Canada is viewed as a good place to educate children (Europe competes at this). Canada is also perceived as well endowed with places to experience beautiful, unspoiled nature (South America is the closest competitor).
The activities in Canada which generate the most interest are:
* Visiting major cities
* Seeing Niagara Falls
* World heritage sites
* Aurora viewing
* Seeing the Canadian Rockies
And, experiencing French Canadian culture is also a unique offering that appeals to many Mexicans.
On the marketing front, internet penetration among Mexican international travellers is very high at 84%, which supports the belief there is a high level of usage of the internet to research and book travel.
To capitalize on the Mexican market, the study points out that Canada needs a strong online in‑language presence, well‑developed relations with the travel trade sector, and a major influencer on destination selection. It will be important to strengthen Canada's image and awareness so that Canada is part of the consideration set early in the trip planning process.
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