Overview of the Collaboration
Concanaco Servytur, the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services, and Tourism, has joined a strategic alliance led by the Federal Secretariat of Tourism and BBVA to promote digital transformation in small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMEs) within Mexico’s tourism sector.
The Alliance: “Avanzamos por México”
The alliance, named “Avanzamos por México,” aims to implement a national digital platform that will provide tourism businesses with essential tools such as a proprietary payment gateway and financial literacy workshops.
Importance of Digital Transformation for SMEs
According to recent studies by Concanaco, only 28% of businesses use professional social media, and 60% do not accept card payments. Moreover, 75% of affiliated businesses do not use digital platforms for sales or online presence.
“Our research shows that digitized companies see a 20% increase in profits on average. Implementing CRM software, social media, and e-commerce can boost sales by up to 35%,” stated Octavio de la Torre de Stéffano, president of Concanaco Servytur.
BBVA’s Role and Data Insights
The BBVA platform will be crucial in this initiative, not only facilitating digital transformation but also providing valuable consumption data by region. This information will aid in developing future programs and strategies.
Concanaco Servytur will act as a promoter of this tool and any national tourism destinations or experiences, thus strengthening the sector.
Support for Local Businesses and Labor Reforms
Beyond this digital initiative, Concanaco Servytur actively supports businesses through programs like the back-to-school fair, projects for women entrepreneurs, and labor reform advocacy.
Promoting Paid Hourly Work
One of their goals is to promote hourly wage payments, aiming for 40-hour productive workdays. Currently, workers are only productive for 42 hours due to paid breaks and active pauses. Reducing this to 40 hours would result in a real productivity of 34 hours.
De la Torre Stéffano emphasized the need to analyze labor productivity based on business size and sector, as Mexico has low unemployment rates but high labor informality (55.4% of the economy), denying many workers access to retirement, pensions, and housing.
