Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, the longest-serving CEO of the Mexico Tourism Board (MTB), will retire July 1. His six-year tenure saw unprecedented growth in tourist arrivals and spending even as Mexico faced a series of challenges. Lopez Negrete spoke to news editor Johanna Jainchill about the strategy behind the success.
Q: What distinguished your tenure from previous ones?
Rodolfo Lopez Negrete
A: In the past, the MTB focused on having a generic campaign about Mexico as a whole. We took a different direction. We focused on individual destinations, accompanied by a very robust country-brand initiative. Also, we put together important partnerships with blue-chip brands such as Formula One, Cirque du Soleil, the NFL.
Q: Mexico performed particularly well with American travelers. What do you attribute that to?
A: We outpaced the overall market and our competitors because we were always very keen to water the garden. So in difficult times for the U.S. economy, we continued to invest important MTB resources side by side with our travel partners through the "Mexico: Live It To Believe It" campaign." When the markets in the U.S. rebounded, we were able to satisfy the demand for Americans to travel abroad, which grew 48.5%.
Q: How did you manage to keep your post under three tourism ministers and two presidents?
A: It is a bit unusual. When you're in government in any country in the world, there is always a temptation to change people when you change the government and the [political] party. Excessive turnover in any organization is not the healthiest way to run an organization. Consistency is how you are able to get results.
The three [ministers] were all excellent and had very different styles. ... They allowed me to implement the strategies that I thought worked the best for the country to compete. ... I enjoyed excellent relationships with all three of them. What I guess my superiors saw was the MTB delivering results and no need to make a change.
Q: What was the strategy behind handling the viruses, hurricanes and cartel violence during your tenure?
A: The principle has always been, when you have a challenge before you, come out right away, explain the challenge, inform and educate the market so it isn't put out of context and then work to resolve it. With Zika most recently, we came forward right away and continue to inform the public and our partners on the realities, and with full transparency about actions being taken to resolve it. We were able to overcome our challenges. Otherwise we wouldn't enjoy the numbers we have. That is the proof the strategy worked.
Q: Which campaigns that you worked on were most effective?
A: Combining the marketing of Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit was interesting because traditionally they were neighboring destinations that always marketed separately and competed with each other. A few years ago, we said we have to take advantage of the strengths of each destination and market them as one without losing the identity of either, because the travel experience in those destinations is different, and [they] complement each other. It was a massive campaign. ... Now Vallarta Nayarit is not only seeing additional investment in new hotels, but the occupancy and average rates and number of flights is increasing at a very nice pace.