AMDETUR Convention Review

AMDETUR (Mexican Resort Development Association), held its XXII Annual Convention in Mexico City last
June 18th, 19th and 20th, under the title “Tourism, Development Driver for Mexico”.

The opening ceremony was lead by the Minister of Tourism, Rodolfo Elizondo, who emphasized how Mexico has been consolidated as an attractive country to invest in, which the Ministry of Tourism Investment
Projects National Census Office figures confirm, having registered an accumulated tourism investment in the past 16 months of 6.267 billion dollars.

This event, positioned as one of the most important forums of the vacation ownership and tourism industry in Mexico, gathered prestigious speakers and panelists with deep knowledge on this industry, who shared information and discussed the achievements and the challenges yet to face, and the way to continue to structure the channels of growth of this important and dynamic industry.

Among the participants were Miguel Gomez Mont, CEO for the National Trust Fund for the Development of
Tourism (FONATUR), who was a panelist in the “Effective Strategies to Drive Tourism in Mexico” panel, where
relevant themes were discussed such as the proposed reforms to the Tourism General Law, the tourism
destinations infrastructure services needed, and about tax facilities to promote tourism investment. Oscar
Fitch, CEO for the Tourist Promotion Council of Mexico, addressed the delegates and he informed them
about his organization’s achievements and all the different tourism promotion campaigns it performs, as well as the efforts in publicity, contributions and cooperative programs with destinations entities in different countries. This organization has grown to have 18 offices internationally to promote Mexico.

Other prestigious speakers were Carlos Vogeler, President of Affiliated Members for the World Tourism
Organization, who said tourism represents 12% of the international consumer spending, 10.3% of the
world gross domestic product (GPD), and 234 million jobs (1 in 12 jobs, 8.2% of total world employment).

Howard Nusbaum, President for the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), explained that
the sales of traditional timeshare inventory in the United States topped $10.6 US billion in 2007. This represents a 6% increase over 2006 sales and 13% compounded annual growth since 2003. He also said that in 2006 timeshare accounted for over half a million jobs across the country for people directly involved in the industry and created through consumer spending by the owners during their vacations.

Other speakers included Peter C. Yesawich, Chairman and CEO of Ypartnership, a frequent commentator on travel trends in such publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and Business Week, who has been listed in Who’s Who in America, and also named one of the 25 Most Extraordinary
Marketing Minds by HSMAI. Jorge Ferrari, Great Place to Work Institute President for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, shared information about the institute, which operates in 40 countries with over 15 thousand participant enterprises and over 10 million of polled workers. Roberto Servitje, Chairman of the Administration Board for Grupo Bimbo, one of the most important baking companies in brand and trademark positioning, sales and production volume around the world.

On his side, Jose Carlos Azcarraga, Chairman for the Mexican Association of Tourism Developers (AMDETUR), emphasized the importance that tourism has been for Mexico one of the best tools to generate wealth through investment and employment, furthermore having the opportunity to distribute it among different regions in the country, where other industries could hardly get through. “We are the most dynamic sector within our country’s economy, with an 80% growth rate in the last five years”, he said. He also invited
each and every industry member to enhance their creativity in order to find new ways for our country to
adjust to the needs of a changing market, as well as the economic circumstances. “Our industry has much more to offer. Even when figures are impressive as they are today, we can achieve greater results by working together with the official sector and making structural changes within a sustainable development”.

About AMDETUR
AMDETUR covers 90% of major vacation ownership resort developments through its affiliated local associations, which serve the most important tourism destinations in Mexico, such as Cancún and the Riviera Maya, Los Cabos, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta, among others. It is also part of the Tourism Advisory
Council, presided by the Mexican President, Felipe Calderón, and is a member of the National Tourist Business Council (CNET), umbrella body of the travel and leisure industry.

It is also a member of the Tourist Promotion Council of Mexico (CPTM) and the Tourist Executive Committee of the Ministry of Tourism. In an international level, AMDETUR presides the Latin American Federation of Resort Developers and is a member of the Global Alliance for Timeshare Excellence, which includes United
States, Latin America, Canada, Europe, Asia, South Africa and Australia associations.

Original article published in July 2008 Edition of Perspective Magazine; the most read independent B2B publication globally for the timeshare and fractional industry.