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Mexico gets a taste of Canada

Quebec, April 2006 – Consumer and buyer market research shows that even though Mexico is Canada's fourth most important export market, Mexicans don't really know a lot about Canadian food and agriculture products. But thanks to a recent culinary tour of Quebec for Mexican journalists that could soon change!

“Culinary tourism is a powerful tool to help the international customers discover more about Canada and get familiar with the diversity of our food products,” says Anne-Marie Croux, Mexico Market Development officer for the International Markets Bureau of AAFC, which organized the tour.

“If we want to advance Canada's interests in this market, we really need to give Mexicans more information about the variety of our food and agriculture products,” she says. “These culinary tourism programs are especially interesting because they focus on value added, gourmet and culturally relevant products. We have to take our international audience beyond wheat and maple syrup, although it's great that those Canadian commodities have such a high profile.”

The plan seems to be working. A subsequent two-page article in Buena Mesa, the food section of Reforma, a Mexican daily newspaper out of Mexico City, promotes Canada, particularly Quebec, as a tourist destination with one of the world's finest cuisine.

“A combination of cultures has made Quebec one of the culinary capitals of the world,” reads the article's headline. Quebec cuisine, the article notes, takes its inspiration from local tradition, an abundant supply of regional and seasonal ingredients and the creativity of young chefs. It goes on to extol the variety of Canadian food products, including gourmet cheeses, meats, fish and seafood, ice wine, ciders and beer.

The Mexican media team dined on tasty foie gras in Quebec City, sipped perfectly chilled ice wine in Montreal and were treated to delectable caribou in Mont Tremblant during their four-day stay in March. They were accompanied by representatives from AAFC and Tourism Québec.

“The coverage we received was easily equal to the cost of the trip,” Croux says. “We're very happy with the results.” Croux adds that tourism has many of the same objectives when it comes to branding Canada's food and agriculture sector in international markets. “I think we need to take more advantage of that synergy.”

It was the second culinary tour organized for Mexican journalists. The first tour visited Calgary, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia in October 2005. Additional tours are planned for Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The tour was sponsored by Canadian Tourism Commission in Mexico, Tourism Québec, AAFC, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT).