l-r: Soran Prasad, Area Sales Manager, Air Canada Vacations;
Mark Gordonsmith, Sales Support Coordinator, Air Canada; Edna Ray,
Regional Sales Manager BC, Air Canada; James Howey, Regional General Manager, Passenger Sales BC,
Air Canada; Daniel Gutierrez, Director of the Mexico Tourist Board for Western Canada and Washington.
Peter Langer, Photographer and Presenter.
To celebrate Air Canada’s daily non stop service from Vancouver to Mexico City the carrier teamed up with the Mexico Tourist Office to put on a truly wonderful evening for the Travel Agents of Vancouver. The event was held at the prestigious Terminal City club downtown and featured a presentation by acclaimed photographer, presenter and raconteur Peter Langer. Also present was Daniel Gutierrez, Director of the Mexico Tourist Office in BC and Washington state as well as Air Canada’s James Howey, Edna Ray and Mark Gordonsmith. Also on hand was Soran Prasad of Air Canada Vacations.
Kudos to the hosts for putting on a truly educational and visually stunning presentation! This was not your run of the mill travel show. Our hosts had gone out of their way to find somebody who knows Mexico City inside out and from the moment Peter Langer started his presentation the audience was mesmerized by the stunning photographs, vivid colours and in depth information.
The theme of the evening was of course that Mexico is not just about beaches but has a cultural and historical dimension that is hard to surpass anywhere in the Americas. Having been to Mexico a few times I had no idea just how much culture and history Mexico City and its environs has to offer and I think most of the audience had a similar impression. Mexico City has over 21 million people and is the largest city in the Americas and the eighth richest city in the world. The old image of Mexico City being smoggy and hard to get around has long gone. The City was recently voted the best run municipality in the world and has a very well organized transportation system of subways, buses and taxis to get everyone around town. Where else in the world can you ride the subway for 24 cents?
Before ending his presentation Langer stressed some very important facts that really do make Mexico City an irresistible destination for people who want a lot more than surf, sand and a sunburn! The city has 150 museums and 4 World Heritage sites - which is the most in the world. There are 10 World Heritage sites within a 2-3 hour drive of Mexico City – and no other city in the world even comes close to this. All of this culture is right on our doorstep and Air Canada’s daily nonstops and interline arrangement with Aeromexico make it convenient for Canadians to take advantage of it!
Everyone left this presentation a lot better educated and with a new respect for the diversity that Mexico has to offer. With all of this history, culture, great restaurants and top class hotels how could you not want to experience this? As an added bonus it seems that Open Jaw already has a presence in this great city. There are pink taxis driven only by women for women passengers. That should make all the female travellers feel safe. Now where do we put our logo???
