This presentation was given on May 8, 2014 at Tianguis Turistico 2014 in Cancun. It provides data and trends on travel to Mexico, Millennial Travel and Luxury Travel Trends.

1. U.S. Travel Trends +
Opportunity for Mexico Tourism
Brought to you by Ruthanne Terrero, VP/Editorial Director:

2. Rodrigo Esponda, Acting Regional
Director for North America, MTB

3. Hope Smith, Owner, Born to
Travel

4. Hope Smith
 Hope operates her Virtuoso-affiliated travel agency, Born
to Travel, out of her Sierra Madre, CA home, focusing on
leisure vacations and adventure travel.
 She is a native of Monterey, Mexico and has been
recognized as a Top Travel Specialist for Mexico by both
Condé Nast Traveler magazine (each year since 2012)
and National Geographic Traveler magazine.
 She also volunteers her time to serve on the advisory
boards of Saveur and Ski magazines.

5. Matteo Luthi, General Manager
Journey Mexico

6. Matteo Luthi
 Matteo has lived in Mexico for more than 20 years,
serving as a tour manager for exclusive clients throughout
country. In this role, he has developed creative and
unique programs for luxury travelers, and has managed
operations for many of Mexico’s best known tourism
companies.

7. The Big Picture: Travel is Up!
 Demand for travel is the highest it’s been since 2004.
 16 million trips are taken a year and that number is
growing
 8 out of 10 affluent consumers said they will take an
international trip in the near future.
 As demand grows, rates will go up as suppliers get more
buying power. They will have more leverage when
negotiating rates for FITs.

8. THE PORTRAIT OF AMERICAN
TRAVELERS®
 A national survey conducted in 2013 by MMGY Global.
 2,511 active leisure travelers who reside in households
with an annual income of $50,000 or more (including an
“affluent traveler” subset of households with an annual
income over $125,000).
 They had taken at least one leisure trip of 75 miles or
more from home during the previous 12 months requiring
overnight accommodations.

9. How Mexico Fared Last Year
 12% of U.S. leisure travelers who took an international trip
visited Mexico
 19% visited the Caribbean
 29% visited Europe

10. Desire to Travel In Next 2 Years
 24% of US leisure travelers are interested in visiting
Mexico on vacation during the next two years
 47% are interested in visiting the Caribbean
 61% are interested in visiting Europe

11. Most Interested in Going To Mexico
 Millennials (31 percent) showed the strongest interest in
visiting Mexico in the next 2 years.

12. What is a Millennial?
 They are 18-35 years of age
 Recognize the size of the market: There are 95 million Millennials out
there.
 That’s compared to 78 million baby boomers.
 They spend $200 billion a year on travel.
 They comprise 22 percent of the traveling public and while they’re
leaning toward budget travel now, they’re growing up and will
soon be able to spend more. They are the future.
 They take on average eight to nine trips a year; that’s business +
pleasure, but they’re extending work trips into leisure breaks.

13. Activities of greatest interest to
Millennials while on vacation include:
 81% - having enough time to relax and unwind
 79% - a destination I have never visited before
 78% - safety of the destination
 76% - an opportunity to try new and unusual cuisine
 72% - a beach experience
 66% - visiting architectural sites
 61% - shopping
 59% - visiting an amenity spa
 57% - nightlife and entertainment
 53% - hiking/climbing/biking
 48% - participation in water sports
 46% - gambling
 45% - playing golf

14. More Millennial Traits
 They want authenticity and do not want to feel like a
tourist, ever.
 They are more likely to try new things while on vacation.
 They, more than any other group, want to connect with
people on vacation.
 They want to share what they are experiencing as they
are experiencing it via social networks.

15. How to Appeal to Millennials
 Millennials like to champion brands they love. Be sure
your brand is something they want to be a part of.
 Let the culture of your business show through online,
Facebook, Instagram and other social media. Create a
vibe people want to be a part of.
 Don’t do a hard sell on Facebook. Posting deal after deal
will make Millennials walk away. Instead, speak of the
your own travel experiences. Talk software, not
hardware.

16. YOLO!! The Luxury Millennial
 Combine with this the younger generation’s new
buzzword, YOLO. (You Only Live Once.)
 Using this as an excuse, Millennials are spending their
money NOW to go to iconic hotels or the newest
destination.
 They’ll worry about the rest later.
-- Paul James, Starwood Hotels & Resorts

17. Latest Luxury Travel Trends
 For the past year, Luxury Travel Advisor has hosted at
least one roundtable a month across the globe, bringing
together suppliers and travel advisors to share consumer
trends.
 The following insights are culled from 12 meetings with an
average of eight to 12 participants each and from the
Ultra Luxury Summit held March 25-27, 2014 in Chicago +
from MMGY Global.

18. Luxury is Back With a
Vengeance.

19. Affluent Spending Their Wealth Now
The recession saw a holding back on spending.
That trend is gone.
 The 55+ affluent travelers have decided they
are not taking it with them nor are they leaving
it behind.
 And they’re spending it on travel.

20. Today, We’re All A-Listers
 Consumers want hotel staff to remember their names
and what they did on their last trip.
 Everyone at a luxury hotel these days considers
themselves a VIP and expects
to be treated accordingly. Everyone.
 Personalization, customization and authenticity are the
buzz words for today.

21. Even the Wealthy Want Value
 People do not care how much things cost as long as they feel
something is being returned for their money.
Jonas Schuermann, Mandarin Oriental, Hong
Kong
 For the past three years, we’ve not sold a hotel that doesn’t come
with some value add. Fifteen years ago, I never asked for breakfast
or Internet. Now it’s the norm and it’s totally expected.
Peter Carideo, CRC Travel

22. Advance Bookings Are Back
 High season and festive season have moved back to a
more advanced booking time. Certain hot properties
have to be reserved very far in advance or it’s difficult to
clear space.
Dan Beschloss, Valerie Wilson Travel

23. Authenticity is in Demand
 People want to have a sense of where
they are. We encourage our hotels to
come up with experiences that are
always changing. In Paris, our chef
takes guests to the market where they
buy white asparagus when it’s in season.
They go back and they cook it
and everyone is touched by that.
Darren Gearing, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts

24. Radical Personalization
 It’s not always about the marquee,
super-expensive experiences, it might be
just a simple visit to learn paddle-boarding or something
like that. We are cultivating relationships with local
suppliers to get their guests insider access to experiences.
Christopher Gould, The Atlantic Hotel, Fort Lauderdale

25. The New “Bleisure”
 The leisure guest and the corporate guest seem to be
merging into each other. A business traveler can bring a
spouse and kids or they can tag on a couple of days to
enjoy a destination.

26. Multi-Generational Travel Gets Bigger
 Family trips have expanded to group size over the past
few years. Now the groups are getting larger with up to
40 traveling at once as family members join in.
 Guaranteed adjoining rooms, villas and rental homes are
vital to them.

27. The World As Classroom
 We’ve got so many more families with the
next generation coming along; they take
the kids out of school saying, “This is a
better experience than school.”
Amanda Hyndman, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

28. I’m Turning 30, 40, 50, 60, 75!
 Celebration travel is also strong. People
are traveling in groups to enjoy their
30th, 40th or 50th birthdays and they’re
bringing their friends along.

29. Thank you!
 Email me with questions at
Ruthanne Terrero
VP/Editorial Director, Travel Agent and Luxury Travel
Advisor
rterrero@questex.com
 Twitter.com/ruthanneterrero