Mexico Gives Meeting Organizers a Tax Break

Tradeshow operators in Mexico will be getting a tax break for bringing events to Mexico in the new year. As of Jan. 1, certain costs involved with conventions and meetings will be exempted from Mexico's 15-percent value added tax. The change is an effort to make Mexico more competitive in the international tradeshow, meeting and convention market.

Several kinds of charges will become exempt, such as those for lodging; transportation to and from the hotel and the airport, seaport or border; and any complimentary services provided by the hotel, including masters of ceremonies, translators, hosts and hostesses, decoration, security and cleaning.

To qualify for the exemption, the event must be operated by a Mexican organizer, venue or hotel, and be certified by the Mexican government. Hotel charges will be exempt from the tax beginning two nights before a congress, convention, exhibition or fair until two nights afterward.

The Mexican tourism industry proposed the tax exemption to Mexican President Vicente Fox, who successfully pushed it through the Mexican Congress and Senate.

According to Ana Paula Hernandez Garcia, fairs and exhibitions manager for the Mexico Convention Bureau/Mexico Tourism Board, the tax exemption is an incentive for international congresses, conventions, fairs and exhibitions to take place in Mexico. "We expect to attract more business, but this is not the only reason," she said, noting the tax break is just part of a strategy that includes an integrated media campaign and strategic alliances between the bureau and major industry players to attract the attention of international organizers.