Support Program to Improve Competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Tourism Sector Enterprises (MSMEs).

Aim

To offer tourism sector MSMEs useful tools to improve their performance; increase their customer satisfaction levels; generate more and better jobs; and improve their financial results.

Strategies

The Support Program to Improve Competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Tourism Sector Enterprises consists of three underlying strategies, as detailed below:

1.   Professionalization and modernization

2.   Competitive financing

3.   One-Stop Shop for tourism project management

1.   Professionalization and Modernization (“M” Modernization Quality Program Certificate)

About the Program

A program to train, assess and accompany to help MSMEs in the tourism sector that incorporates effective tools and modern management practices in their day-to-day business operations. This aims to improve their customers’ satisfaction levels; improve their staff’s performance; improve their control over their business; reduce waste; improve profitability; in other words, make their company more competitive.

Results so far

Involvement, by company size

Benefits obtained by participating companies

At the end of 2006, SECTUR made a study to measure the impact of the M Program on participating companies, coming to the conclusion that an “M” Certified Company achieves 16% more profits than a non-“M” certified company.

The following indicators show other benefits obtained by “M” certified companies from the program:

Challenges 2007- 2012

By 2012, the program has the following goals:

      10,000 companies registered by 2012

      Support of 15 million pesos from the SME Fund (Ministry of the Economy) to register 1,500 companies in 2007.

2.- Competitive Financing

Offer comprehensive support to MSMEs in the Tourism Sector to aid their modernization and growth, to complement the contribution made by the Federal Government for their promotion and development.

Program Benefits:

      MSMEs can access resources to help them overcome difficult patches due to lack of liquidity or access to finance.

      Simple and rapid access to resources for Working Capital and Equipment.

      Access to training and technical assistance.

Type of company benefitted:

      "M" Certified companies.

      Businesses located in Magic Towns (Pueblos Mágicos) offering goods and/or services.

      Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Tourism Sector in tourist destinations.

      National Providers to Tourism Enterprises.

Resources earmarked for credit: 100 million pesos from the Ministry of the Economy, representing $3,000,000,000 pesos until the end of 2007 taking into account the guarantee scheme.

Types of Credit:

1.- MSME Credits in the Tourism Sector

(Small Hotels, Ecotourism organizations, Related Services, etc.), targeted at professionalizing and modernizing small hotels, travel agencies, restaurants and tourism services in Mexico.

Features:

      Credit for working capital, modernization programs and equipment.

      Seeking rapid evaluation, with minimum information requirements.

      Simplified operation: mainly credit card or checking accounts system.

      Credits up to 3.5 million pesos (or 900 thousand Investment Units (UDIs)).

      Without real guarantees.

      Competitive interest rates.

      No need for financial statements as prerequisite for credit approval.

2.- Support for providers:

Opening up factoring lines of credit for medium-sized enterprises in the tourism sector, through the electronic factoring system of the Development Banking Institution (Nafinsa) (Productive Chains):

Features:

      Discounts for providers’ documents.

      Preferential interest rates for providers.

      With this scheme, SME providers to tourism companies may immediately discount their accounts receivable at a low cost.

3. Financing hotels and small tourism projects:

Providing a service to a business area not covered by banks. Support for this area through medium-sized amounts has a significant impact on the generation of direct and indirect employment, as well as the providers’ development – both during the period of construction and operation.

 Features:

      Generating incentives for banks to begin working with this type of customer.

      For construction, extensions, remodeling, equipping and acquiring beach and city hotels, development of tourist condominiums and special tourism projects.

      Credit lines up to $30 million pesos: up to 15 years (on a case by case basis).

      Grace Period: up to 2 years (case by case).

3.- One-Stop Shop for tourism project procedures

This strategy aims to implement a one-stop shop to make administrative procedures less onerous when they involve different government departments, so that tourism projects can go ahead.

Each action point will give the business owner a single point of contact, giving him/her greater legal certainty and administrative ease in starting a company.

Current situation:

80 out of a total of 932 municipalities represent 76% of tourism economic units, and 51 of these use the Rapid Business Start Up System (SARE). And according to the 2004 Economic Census, 43 out of the 62 tourism activities are included in the SARE system.

Program goals

      The aim is to sign SARE agreements with 51 municipalities, for 43 tourism activities.

      Following negotiations with the Federal Bureau of Regulatory Improvement (COFEMER), Tourism SAREs are due to begin development in destinations such as Manzanillo, Acapulco, Morelia, Cozumel, Solidaridad, Taxco and Ixtapa-Zihuatenejo.

      In the first stage, Tourism SAREs shall begin development in Morelia and Acapulco with the collaboration of the state governments of Michoacan and Guerrero respectively.

This one-stop shop will provide the following benefits:

      Legal certainty for the citizen

      Less governmental discretion

      Productivity and efficiency in procedures and response times

      Assistance for citizens

      Less corruption

      Lower costs for government and citizens

      Governmental productivity and efficiency

      Modern public administration

More Information:

For more information, you can read the following leaflet:

            PDF File Support Program to improve Competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Tourism Sector Enterprises (MSMEs) –  (8.09 MB)

Ministry of Tourism (Secretaría de Turismo)

Tourism Culture Development Department (Dirección General de Desarrollo de la Cultura Turística)

Tourism Modernization Section (Dirección de Modernización Turística)

Schiller No. 138, 4° piso

Col. Chapultepec Morales

Tel. 3003 1600 ext. 4425, 4431 and 4434

e-mail: meayala@sectur.gob.mx

webpage: www.sectur.gob.mx