• by Tanya Gazdik , October 30, 2013

New York and Mexico City are launching an initiative to encourage travel between the two cities.

NYC & Company -- New York’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization -- and Mexico City's promotional company Fondo Mixto de Promocion Turistica del Distrito Federal (FMPT) and Aeromexico announced the first-ever city-to-city partnership to boost tourism between the two cities.

The two groups signed a media asset-sharing agreement valued at USD $250,000 each.

The one-year agreement includes a reciprocal multimedia marketing exchange between the two destinations and a limited-time Aeromexico $399 roundtrip airfare deal on its four daily flights, including the recently launched luxury 787 Dreamliner. 

New York City is a very valuable market for the airline, says Andres Conesa, CEO Aeromexico.

With four daily nonstop frequencies from Mexico City and one daily nonstop flight from Cancun, it allows the airline to offer more than 1,400 daily seats to New York, NY.

“That's why the carrier is so pleased to be part of actions like these that drive tourism and business travel not only between these two cities, but also between both nations." Conesa said in a release.

The limited-time Aeromexico fare must be purchased by Nov. 22 for round-trip travel to either destination now through March 31. 

The city-to-city advertising exchange through November includes a swap of media. In Mexico City, New York, NY promotions highlighting the energy and vibrancy of all five boroughs will appear in newsprint, radio and digital media from Oct. 30 through Nov. 20.

In New York, 83 bus shelters promoting travel to Mexico City will generate an estimated 36 million impressions throughout the city. Those ads will run for four weeks. 

Additionally, as part of the new agreement, New York and Mexico City will also share best practices in tourism management in an effort to increase the number of visitors between both markets in the year ahead.   

In 2012, New York City welcomed 387,000 visitors from Mexico, a 3% increase over the previous year.  Visitors from Mexico spent an average of $1,706 per person per trip and collectively $660 million in 2012. 

In 2012, 325,000 passengers traveled to Mexico City using New York as a point of origin compared to the 279,363 that traveled during 2011.