The Mexican government and BBVA promote national tourism through ‘Avanzamos por México’ (Moving Mexico Forward)

Through various efforts, the federal government, together with BBVA, seeks to boost national tourism through its new campaign “Avanzamos por México” (Moving Mexico Forward). The effort focuses on five main areas, which will promote the country brand and provide access to financing for community tourism.

Presented by the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, and the Vice President and CEO of BBVA Mexico, Eduardo Osuna Osuna, the five pillars will be:

Promotions for travelers and users of the BBVA on flights, accommodation, and tourist packages
A campaign to position the Mexico and Pueblos Mágicos brands
Digitization to facilitate the payment of tourist services through various digital modalities

Economic development to generate a direct positive impact on the communities in the Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns)
Financial education, including workshops on the subject for students, SMEs, tourism service providers, and other sectors of the population

Rodríguez Zamora said that this strategic alliance between the Ministry of Tourism and BBVA will promote the Mexico brand and provide access to financing in community tourism areas.

She stted that the Avanzamos por México initiative “adds to the efforts made by this administration to position our country as one of the five main tourist destinations in the world and to increase the economic benefits and employment derived from this noble activity, one of the goals established in the Mexico Plan to generate Shared Prosperity”.

With this alliance, BBVA joins the process of digitizing the Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) by offering SMEs banking products such as point-of-sale terminals, payment gateways and links for carrying out transactions and bringing them closer to the advantages of online payments.

The strategy will be accompanied by an advertising campaign to position the “Mexico” and “Magical Towns” brands on ATMs, screens and the bank’s digital channels. The bank will also extend a financial education program to the resident communities of the towns with this designation.

Additionally, financial access and banking services will be provided for community tourism projects, financial and technological education for entrepreneurs in the sector, and financial incentives will be given to tourists such as rewards programs, interest-free months and cashback.

In his speech, the Vice President and General Manager of BBVA Mexico, Eduardo Osuna Osuna, mentioned that the digitalization of the Pueblos Mágicos is essential, given that nowadays, hotel and flight reservations are made online and tourists expect to pay without cash and to find digital services.

“70% of micro and small enterprises in this sector do not have access to banking and that is why we are promoting the creation of a digital payment environment that will allow merchants, artisans and tourist service providers to accept electronic payments, to reduce dependence on cash and promote sustainable financial inclusion,” he said.