San Francisco, CA – The Visit California Poppy Awards honor the best and brightest of California tourism promotion and are bestowed in even-numbered years and serve as the finale to Outlook Forum.
The award categories encompass core disciplines in tourism marketing and destination management. Poppy Award recipients are chosen by expert judges from the tourism industry. The San Francisco Giants have been nominated for the 2023 campaign to bring travelers from Mexico to California.
In advance of Major League Baseball’s historic Mexico City Series last year, representatives from the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Major League Baseball along with their respective Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and Visit California – the state’s official tourism promotion agency – announced a successful collaboration in hosting multiple groundbreaking events. The events, which took place on April 26-27, 2023 in Mexico City, marked the first time the League and two MLB clubs, two DMOs and a state tourism authority have partnered to attract leisure, group and sports tourism across the state, while celebrating the sport of baseball.
The unprecedented tourism-specific collaboration brought together hundreds of local tour operators, MICE clients and regional tourism agencies over the course of the two-day event series. Executives from each organization shared local updates and future plans with invited guests at two unique Mexico City locations. The alignment of all organizations involved was evident as they expressed their excitement in working together and highlighted the importance of collaboration in hosting a large-scale event like the MLB Mexico City Series.
“It’s an honor to be involved in the inaugural MLB Mexico City Series and be joined by our close partners to promote our shared initiatives,” said Stephen Revetria, President of Giants Enterprises. “We are committed to the travel industry and have seen firsthand the positive return from our actions in the space. Through the authentic and concentrated efforts this past week, the relationships we formed will help to advance us into the future.”
In 2023, San Francisco expects to receive nearly 490,000 visitors from Mexico – a 19% increase over 2022 – according to Global City Travel Database, Oxford Economics.
“From the moment our event guests arrived, we kept hearing how unique and special it was that our respective organizations have teamed up to promote not only our individual cities and teams, but California as a whole,” noted Nicole Rogers, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer, San Francisco Travel Association.
The San Diego Padres and San Diego Tourism Authority contributed to the success of the MLB Mexico City Series by working collaboratively with the San Francisco organizations. The two clubs are National League West Division rivals, but share common goals and visions for the future success of their organizations.
“We were proud to play in the first-ever Mexico City Series and showcase our exciting team to loyal Padres fans south of the border,” said Curt Waugh, Padres Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service. “The collaboration between our respective organizations and travel partners throughout the weekend demonstrated why the tourism industry is thriving.”
“We have received endless compliments from the event’s attendees about the unique way that teams and destinations combine their efforts to showcase sports and tourism to Mexico tour operators” noted Ruben Labin, Tourism Development Manager with San Diego Tourism Authority.
Mexico remains California’s largest volume international market, including visitors arriving by land and air. The opportunity to connect with key stakeholders in Mexico, in anticipation of the marquee international event, helped educate agents, planners and media on the many sports opportunities available across the state.
“When it comes to sports, California is big league all the way,” said Caroline Beteta, President and CEO of Visit California. “We are thrilled to have partnered with the MLB and our destination partners to inspire sports fans, players and everyone in between to experience all the state has to offer.”
Major League Baseball officials joined the clubs and DMOs in hosting the events and are poised to expand on the success of the events in future years. In recent years, MLB has hosted international games in England and Japan.
“With baseball’s popularity on the rise in Mexico, we see a great opportunity to give fans in the country special trips to MLB ballparks in the U.S. to experience more MLB action live and in-person,” said Mark Plutzer, MLB Senior Vice President, Ticketing. “This first-of-its-kind international event with our Clubs and tourism authorities represents an exciting new opportunity for us to continue growing the sport around the world.”
Winners will be announced on Tuesday, March 12, at the Poppy Awards gala that closes out Outlook Forum in Greater Palms Springs.