Guadalajara
Meeting again to the mariachi beat
AT IMEX FRANKFURT CMW ’ S CATIE OWEN TALKED TO GUSTAVO STAUFERT , DIRECTOR GENERAL AND CEO OF GUADALAJARA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU , ABOUT THE EXCITING NEWS THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM - ALL THE WAY FROM MEXICO .
C
O : What news have you brought with you to IMEX Frankfurt ? GS : We ’ re delighted to announce that Guadalajara has had its first anniversary as a Best Cities Global Alliance member – especially as its the alliance ’ s only Latin American member ! Previously we had been struggling to find exactly the right association for us , so it ’ s great to have joined Best Cities and settled in .
CO : As a destination , what was a stand-out part of the show for you ? GS : At the beginning of IMEX , we attended the strategic thinkers meeting where associations and PCOs came together to talk with destinations . During the meeting we discussed legacy , sustainability , and what PCOs and destinations are expecting from each other now when they do business . There are new destinations at the table also who often get overlooked , which is a big issue . It was great to talk through solutions with the other strategic thinkers .
Guadalajara is now a big delegate wrangler and full member of the BestCities alliance
CO : Despite Mexico as a country not exhibiting , what brought you to IMEX ? GS : Although Mexico decided to not exhibit as a hub this year , we couldn ’ t miss it . Guadalajara as a city is an important player in the destination and our main international MICE market comes from Europe . You might think that because we ’ re in the neighbourhood of North America , the USA should be our primary market – but in fact , it has become Europe ! For that reason alone we couldn ’ t miss IMEX Frankfurt .
Europe has been an important partner for Guadalajara for years . When I first joined the Guadalajara Convention & Visitors Bureau nine years ago and I visited Europe , my industry colleagues all said that we needed a direct flight from Guadalajara to Europe . Now , our year-old straight flight from Madrid to Guadalajara has been a complete success .
Investing in our MICE industry is hugely important to us , as our sector ’ s economic impact just keeps increasing .
Above : Gustavo Staufert , director general and CEO , Guadalajara Convention & Visitors Bureau
The first quarter of 2023 saw a 44 % increase over where we were in 2019 . So , when we ’ re asked : ‘ Has Guadalajara recovered ?’, the answer is yes – and we ’ re growing big time .
CO : Are you expecting more visitors now that the pandemic has been de-escalated by the WHO ? GS : For us , events in 2023 are already looking great . We ’ ll have the Gay Games in November this year , have already had the big Canelo Álvarez fight , and have the allure of internationally renowned home heroes like Formula One driver ‘ Checo ’ Perez . It ’ s a momentum we need to keep up , and we ’ re staying global by looking to attract big pharmaceutical congresses . In June we ( visited ) the 25th World Congress of Dermatology in Singapore , the largest medical congress in the world , as we ’ re in the final stage of bidding for it against Munich !
Post-pandemic recovery has posed some challenges to us . We ’ re currently trying to rearrange all the events that were cancelled long ago due to Covid so now , with new events on the horizon for us , we ’ re coming up against an agenda problem . It ’ s a happy problem , but a challenge , nonetheless .
CO : What events are coming to Guadalajara ? GS : The Gay Games will be coming to Guadalajara this year , and Latin America has never been the venue for the Games before . Sometimes , before visiting , people can get the wrong impression of our knowledge of diversity when all they see are stereotypical aspects like Charrería , but we want to make a statement and show that Guadalajara is a destination that truly celebrates diversity . That ’ s the kind of legacy we want to build in Guadalajara , for both our and the international communities .
At the same time as winning the bid for the Gay Games , we were also
12 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 125