Most Australians wouldn’t know a lot about Los Cabos. But people in Los Cabos know Australians. Ask Los Cabos Tourism Board Managing Director Rodrigo Esponda what Aussie visitors to the Mexican destination, located on the tip of Baja California Sur, are like, and his answer is succinct.
“I would say that is our best client. The best travellers to Los Cabos are the Australians,” he tells Karryon in an interview in Sydney.
Despite working for many years (16 to be precise) at the Mexico Tourism Board, visiting Los Cabos many times, and having the market knowledge that that experience provides, Esponda was still surprised at what he found whilst researching for an interview for his current role.
“I started looking, specifically into Los Cabos airport, and after the United States and Canada, it would come Australia as the third international market – and for me, it was a surprise,” he explains.
That also places Australia as the region’s number one long-haul market.
But anyone with a good knowledge of Baja California and the typical Australian traveller, may not have been as shocked. I mean, what’s not to love about a destination with “350 days” of sunshine a year, impossibly gorgeous beaches, boundless nature, amazing dining and warm hospitality, all wrapped in Mexico’s famous, fun-loving spirit?
After landing the job, Esponda quickly discovered that affection was mutual.
“I started talking to the hoteliers and they would say, ‘Oh yeah, we have a good number of Australians that come and they are very reliable clients… and they are very kind to the people that are serving them’,” he says.
That goes for couples, families, groups of friends and first-time or repeat visitors.
The Aussie difference
In a “good way”, Esponda says, Australians are “noticeable”. By that, he means, there’s a big difference between American visitors, who form by far the region’s largest market, and Aussies.
“So the accent, the way they relate to people… everybody’s super happy when Australians come to Los Cabos because they are open to connecting with people,” Rodrigo remarks.
“They like the outdoors, so when they come to Los Cabos they do kayaking, zip lining, mountain biking, sailing, lots of different activities. So everybody loves Australians.”
There’s also a clear pattern around how Aussies travel to the Mexican municipality, and that is mostly by adding on a stay after a tour in the US, particularly on the West Coast.
“You always connect Los Cabos with the United States… and then you come to Los Cabos,” Esponda says, flagging Los Angeles as the top gateway for Australians travelling to the region, which he calls the “original California”.
Three for one
Just a two-hour flight from LA, and with 10 flights a day, it’s also “very easy to fly to”.
“It’s very, let’s say, sophisticated or aspirational in the sense that after visiting cities, you want to relax and make a little bit more of a connection with nature, before coming back to Australia,” Rodrigo says.
“We have a combination of the ocean, the mountain and the desert. So in one day, you can do a mountain activity like hiking, then jump into a waterfall; the next day go to the desert, and then the third day go to the ocean. The three are totally different.”
According to the Los Cabos boss, the region expects just over 8,000 Australians to visit this year, “which is a good number”, he says, when you consider the distance they have to travel. The destination even features in the new Qantas inflight safety video.
“And the spending is good. Usually they stay in good accomodations and they definitely do a lot of activities, so they spend a lot of money.”
This is consistent with Australian spend in a lot of destinations – and sits nicely with Los Cabos’ luxury proposition for visitors, which Esponda says is a big market.
“Out of 18,000 rooms, 3,000 are luxury rooms. And that’s one of the highest ratios of any destination.”
“For example, we have 11 [AAA] Five Diamond hotels in the destination. Mexico only has 18. Los Angeles has 5.
“We have 14 Virtuoso hotels – there is no other destination that has 14, as a destination. I would need to check if Australia has 14 Virtuoso hotels altogether!”
“And they’re all spread out, so they don’t compete against each other. They get to a different profile of traveller, be they more modern, more romantic, families, adults.”
And you can bet Australians.