Mexico City

Solidifying CDMX as a Top Global Tourism Destination

CitiesMexico CitySolidifying CDMX as a Top Global Tourism Destination

Bloomberg Associates worked with Mayor Mancera and the Tourism Development Fund (Fondo Mixto) to market and elevate Mexico City as one of the world’s leading destinations.

About

Creating and communicating a singular, authentic image of a city not only brings citizens together and fosters civic pride, but will positively affect visitation and help elevate the city on a global level.

George Fertitta, CEO, Bloomberg Associates

Relevant Expertise

Enhance City Communications and Resident Engagement

Awareness and Reputation Campaigns
Events Attraction and Management
PSAs and Marketing Campaigns

Spur Business and Industry Growth

Tourism and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) Attraction

Challenge

Mexico City is one of the most beautiful and inspiring cities in the Western hemisphere, a capital of cuisine, culture, sports, and more. However, despite being a city with incredible world-class offerings, Mexico City was underperforming as a tourism destination. Mayor Mancera asked Bloomberg Associates to help CDMX become a hub for global tourism.

Approach

Bloomberg Associates worked with the City to present a unified and cohesive image locally, nationally, and internationally. Although commonly known as “Mexico City” since its founding, one of Mayor Mancera’s biggest priorities and campaign promises was to convert the Federal District into an independent, self-managed city with its own constitution and political autonomy. As part of this effort, Mayor Mancera rebranded the city from Mexico D.F. to CDMX — Ciudad de México. Bloomberg Associates assisted Mayor Mancera in integrating the CDMX brand into all tourism and promotional activities.

Bloomberg Associates then helped CDMX’s Tourism Development Fund, Fondo Mixto, completely reinvent its marketing and promotional strategy and recruit a top global communications and public relations firm to execute the strategy. The new approach shifted efforts to focus on higher spending markets, namely the United States, and target travelers previously overlooked in the City’s tourism campaigns. Bloomberg Associates also advised on the creation and launch of Mexico City’s first English-language tourism site through a collaboration with mxcity.mx. The new site allowed English-speaking visitors access to unique and creative editorial content and a vast events calendar with both mainstream cultural events and lesser-known areas of interest throughout Mexico City.

After transforming the tourism marketing strategy and launching the English-language tourism site, Bloomberg Associates worked with the City to further raise CDMX’s profile by recruiting major, international sporting events to be hosted in Mexico City. Working with the Mexico City Sport Institute, a long-term partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) was secured to bring MLB games back to Mexico City after a 10- year absence. As part of the partnership, MLB agreed to open a fully-staffed office in Mexico City and stage Spring Training and Regular Season games in Mexico City several times over the following years. Bloomberg Associates also supported efforts to bring the National Football League (NFL) back to Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which resulted in the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Texans playing there in 2016.

Impact

As a result of the many combined efforts to elevate the city’s image and reputation as a tourism destination, Mexico City saw a record number of visitors in 2016 and garnered numerous awards, accolades, and positive attention from news and travel outlets across the globe. Highlights included a cover feature in Travel + Leisure and a glowing multi-page spread in Departures magazine in 2015. Mexico City was named the number one destination in The New York Times’ 52 Places to Go in 2016. Topping this prestigious list brought unprecedented attention to CDMX, solidifying its position as a world-class destination.