Mex Rent a Car's chief business development officer, Javier García González, joined Adrián Carabias, revenue and marketing director of OYO Hotels México, to discuss the preferences and priorities of travelers regarding tourism on the road to the new normality.

As travel slowly returns as part of the "new normal," tourists value being flexible, with preferred destinations within a radius of 200 to 300 km from home.

The forum was part of the virtual panels that OYO Hotels carries out weekly in order to reflect and understand the needs of current tourism, generate proposals and provide added value to its more than 650 hotel partners in the country.

According to the panelists, the key to differentiate a tourism proposal in the current context lies in a broad and comprehensive flexibility policy, accompanied by a dissemination campaign so that travelers have clarity and confidence in this regard.

García explained that requests for changes in car rentals in recent months have increased significantly with respect to dates, vehicle types, and destinations in line with the COVID-19 traffic light changes and, consequently, the opening of recreational or cultural spaces.

"Strict adherence to sanitary measures is a must, so the added value to offer tourists, adapting to travel trends, is flexibility," Garcia said in a statement.

Carabias explained that it is "time to listen" to the traveler to offer flexibility and fair prices that take care of their economy in this complicated context, as well as providing a high quality service.

Another finding documented by Mex Rent a Car has been the increase in customers between July and August who use rented cars to travel to destinations within a radius of no more than 300 kilometers. This trend has been identified mainly in large cities in the country such as Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara. These are tourists who seek to make short trips to “magical towns” or small beaches, environments that give them confidence.

"The success that road tourism is having is explained by the fact that travelers want a destination close to their most important control point: their home" García said.

Finally, the panelists highlighted the value of alliances within the sector in order to join efforts to understand today's tourists and offer them integrated services that enrich their travel experience.

The full webinar "The New Road Tourism" is available to watch.