Mexico

Mexico has an emerging middle class market that is eager to travel and has the means to do so.  Oregon's clean, green and friendly cities, beautiful coastlines, wine country and winter product have all been well received by the media and tour operators.  The Mexican traveler to Oregon is affluent, speaks limited English and wants to stay in high-end hotels that offer full service and access to great shopping.  Translation services are a key expectation of this market and Spanish speaking guides are usually requested.  Typically, families travel as a group and individual members can spend up to $3000 per person, per trip.  Oregon's winter product is especially attractive and is often one of a Mexican family's first experiences with skiing, snowshoeing or just enjoying the scenic beauty of the mountain landscape. 

Our primary partners for the Mexico market are the Port of Portland and Metro Portland.  Mexicana Airlines has daily non-stop service between Portland and Guadalajara, and non-stop service between Portland and Mexico City four times per week as of June 2007.  Alaska Airlines offers seasonal non-stop services from October through April between Portland and Los Cabos (four times a week), and between Portland and Puerto Vallarta (three times a week).  The strategy for the first year was to educate consumers and travel trade through the hosting of media (resulting in over $500,000 in media coverage), host tour operator research trips, and participate in Mexico's major travel trade show.