EDUARDO TORREBLANCA
Oaxaca and Chiapas offer great opportunities to discover new places.
BIOGRAPHY
Eduardo Torreblanca is the Director General of Mexico Travel Channel. He has a degree in journalism and psychology and a master's in communication. He also has two specialties, one in business journalism entrepreneurship and another in digital journalism. He started his career as a cartoonist for a magazine. His first job as a journalist was for Channel 11, a public cultural and educational channel. He was previously the Latam director for Conexión Financiera, a Spanish-language TV channel about economy and finance.
How is Mexico Travel Channel contributing to the Mexican tourism industry?
We focus on the tourism industry, which is one of the main sectors in Mexico. The original owners of the channel wanted to sell it, and we acquired it on December 31, 2018. The current owner is Gin Talent and Entertainment. The brand was not touched by the new owner because Mexico Travel Channel is a well-established brand in the country.
What impact has the pandemic had on your business?
We have been severely impacted because Mexico Travel Channel broadcasts a great deal of content that is recorded outdoors, and currently it is not possible to go out as part of the contingency measures to stop the spread of the disease. We have done most of our content remotely as a result. The coronavirus crisis is under control in Asia and Europe, so we expect things to gradually return to normal in Mexico as well, which will benefit the tourism sector. The majority of tourism businesses have been heavily impacted, with some surveys estimating that up to 30% of tourism-related businesses could shut down.
What role do you play in the tourism sector, and how can you work to reactivate this sector?
Mexico Travel Channel is a business; we need to be a profitable channel that generates income. At the same time, we have to pay attention to the current situation. We are part of the tourism ecosystem and have to do something to reactivate the industry. We can achieve that by working closely with the authorities. In addition, we have to stay in touch with the private sector, including hotel chains and airlines, for example. We have to work together with the private and public sectors as well as SMEs, which have been heavily impacted by the situation.
How much interest is there in domestic tourism?
Our impression is that Mexicans are not that interested in their own country and might prefer to visit other countries. However, Mexico has many things to offer, and we can use this situation to tell Mexicans that domestic tourism is a better option these days. For example, Oaxaca and Chiapas offer great opportunities to discover new places. Mexicans should travel around Mexico to find the variety of opportunities on offer. I have seen some pictures of Mexico that I cannot even believe were taken here. There will be great opportunities to travel at affordable prices.
EDUARDO TORREBLANCA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Focus
Inclusive development
Home to more than 22 million people, Mexico City is one of the most important cultural, financial, and educational centers in the world. While the lack of a coordinated approach to urban development has hurt the city's potential in the past, the current government is fully determined to promote inclusive growth and capture all the gains associated with urbanization.
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Alexis Langagne, North Latam Managing Director, Prosegur Security
With a cybersecurity firm, a guarding services firm, an electronic security systems company, and a video security company under its umbrella, Prosegur Security is the only company to offer a 360-degree security solution in Mexico.
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Rafael Fernando Marín Mollinedo , General Director, Public Decentralized Office of the Interoceanic Multimodal Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
With the development plan of Isthmus of Tehuantepec in hand, Mexico will bring about greater economic development in the country's often-overlooked south.
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Engineering
Each one of the three companies featured in this forum are known for disrupting the construction industry in their own unique ways. While Grupo Beck is a pioneer of the integrated delivery process in Mexico, Bovis is among the first companies to build high-rise buildings in the country. Sacyr Concesiones, on the other hand, uses infrastructure development as a means to promote equality.
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Fabrizio Feliciani, Regional Director, UNOPS
As the UN's special projects services unit, UNOPS' main goal is to support public institutions that are undertaking important infrastructure projects to contribute significantly to advancing a country or region's development agenda.
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Alejandro R. Paolini, Managing Director of Mexico, Central America & Caribbean, Siemens Healthineer
Siemens Healthineers' aim is to support the growth and development of Mexico's healthcare sector and help the government with innovative technologies, especially those that help treat chronic diseases.
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Yon de Luisa Plazas, President, Mexican Football Federation (FEMEXFUT)
Mexico's Liga MX is among the world's top-10 football leagues, and FEMEXFUT plans to push it into the top three by improving four key pillars, namely sporting success, sports justice, international relations, and social responsibility.
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