Beyond the new tourism strategy for SMA

Published February 4th, 2022

Mauricio Trejo Pureco, Municipal President of San Miguel, accompanied by Tania Castillo, in charge of tourism in San Miguel and María José Garrido, CEO of ‘The One Percent’ advertising agency, recently launched the tourist campaign called ‘San Miguel de Allende thank you for making Mexico beat’.

Shortly after the Tourist Council, chaired by Laura Torres Septién and which operated for more than 15 years in the heritage city, completely disappeared, the first mayor announced a new way of positioning the heritage city at an international level, calling it the most important tourist strategy destination of all time.

Mauricio Trejo, the city’s Mayor, highlighted that the city council recently approved an expenditure budget of 1.1 billion pesos and that 30 million will be allocated to the intelligent promotion of San Miguel de Allende, which he said will make the Municipality is not dependent on any level of government in budgetary matters.

With these new ways of doing tourism and with all the unions united (kanaco, canirac, hotel association, wedding association, and tourist guides) the municipal president expressed that he intends to return to the time of the years; 2014, 2015 when there was an average stay of 3.9 nights per tourist to recover the economy after the last wave of the Covid 19 pandemic, where around 80 percent of jobs were lost.

Regarding the support and coordinated work with the Secretary of Tourism of the State of Guanajuato, Trejo Pureco emphasized that there is no division with said agency headed by Juan José Álvarez Brunel from San Miguel, explained that State Tourism is supporting other areas of Guanajuato that they need it more than San Miguel and with the work that is done in this destination, the actions are further enhanced by carrying out parallel works for the development of the State.

Regarding the Guanajuato International Film Festival, which has been directed by Sarah Hoch for 25 years, the mayor assured that this festival is not contemplated to take place in San Miguel de Allende, adding that it is an event that has never generated an economic benefit for the municipality, in the locality, said, «a pure festival will be generated with a multiplier effect and that each peso is vertical so that it reaches the one who polish shoes, the one who sells the tortillas or the one who sells the Esquites.»

Regarding the Jazz Festival, he highlighted that it will be a month of music through the streets of the historic center, in addition, it is planned to visit Montreal, Canada to learn about the good practices that they carry out in their Jazz Festival, which is one of the best in the world, in addition, a twinning with that place since the province of Quebec is also a World Heritage Site.

Another strategy to highlight tourism in the region is the alliance with Dolores Hidalgo where there have already been meetings between the councilors: Mauricio Trejo and Adrián Hernández to seek new forms of tourist connection, one of them is undoubtedly the San Miguel-Dolores Boulevard Hidalgo, work of great investment by the state government.

Without a doubt, the current government is thinking of rescuing the aerodrome, as expressed by the president of San Miguel. It should be remembered that the project of a landing strip for small planes in San Miguel has been an attempt by three past administrations, including that of Mauricio Trejo from 2012 to 2015.

The Municipal President stressed that this project is a trigger to generate an economy, Trejo Pureco explained that medical tourism needs where air ambulances take off and land.

However, he said the challenge is great, he explained that in the last administration the landing strip was given on loan to a private air taxi company and at the same time the city council approved the use of land (next to the runway) of housing development, therefore, explained; the work will be on one side; rescue the runway and at the same time, make the change of land use of the housing development next to the aerodrome property and once these two issues are revoked they will face the legal process so that civil aviation grants the license and continue with that great project. He finished.