During the 94th DMAI Annual Convention a graduation ceremony was held in which 20 executives from different Convention & Visitors offices from the United States and Mexico received CDME Certification.

This time, Mexico was represented by Jose Maria Barquín, current Deputy Director of the Mexico Tourism Board office in Los Angeles, California.  He received his Certificate in Marketing and Management of Tourist Destinations from the President and Executives of the DMAI in Las Vegas, Nevada. The CDME certificate is the industry’s highest rating in professional development and educational advancement in terms of promotion, marketing and management of tourist destinations.

The Certification program is focused on skills development and the implementation of strategic issues such as vision, leadership, and productivity. It requires satisfactory completion of the certification’s coursework over a 4 year period in addition to passing the final exam. This certification program, recognized worldwide, also requires proven experience at the executive level in regards to the promotion and marketing of tourist destinations.  Currently there are approximately 150 executives from Convention & Visitors Offices that are accredited under the CDME program.  There are many from the United States, four from Canada and Jose Maria Barquín, who is the first in Mexico to obtain this certification.

The Regional Director for North America, Eduardo Chaillo was present at the Convention where the MTB addressed issues of professional development for Mexican destinations and DMAI member exploitation of a powerful database called MINT. This is a tool to identify prospective locations for conducting conventions, meetings and exhibitions in Mexico.  It is also a useful instrument in the establishment of mutual cooperation programs with the intentions of pursuing the internationalization of the DMAI, where Mexico plays an important leadership role toward Latin America. The Convention was attended by Carlos Perez Marrufo, President of the National Association of Tourism Boards and the Monterrey and Puebla Tourism Boards.

About the Mexico Tourism Board

The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) brings together the resources of federal and state governments, municipalities and private companies to promote Mexico's tourism attractions and destinations internationally. Created in 1999, the MTB is Mexico’s tourism promotion agency, and its participants include members of both the private and public sectors. The MTB has offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.