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How to Organize Group Travel in Mexico
Group travel, and the events which encompass it, can become a very rewarding and fulfilling way to enjoy travels in Mexico.
If your role is to organize a group travel event to Mexico, then this guide will give you some tips and advice to help you with your research and planning.
Mexperience can also assist with the planning and arranging of your group travels in Mexico.
Setting Out a Plan
Your group travel plans will be guided by the type of event you plan to hold.
Follow the Leader
It's important to have one person leading and project-managing your group event, reunion, or celebration.
Business Conferences and Team Building Events are usually coordinated and project managed by one person inside an organization, with support and assistance being given by colleagues and the aid of a specialist travel consultant. Mexperience can assist you with your business conferences, team-building, and other formal events in Mexico. See our guide to Mexico Group Travel and Events for full details and contact information.
Private Events, such as weddings, family or social reunions, and special celebrations will usually be led by a family member or a friend who is known to be a good organizer, arranger and communicator.
About the Group Leader
The group and event leader should be someone with good organizational skills; the ability to multi-task, and a good capacity for clear, precise communication.
There will be many choices to make and decisions to take in a short space of time and it's essential that the person charged with leading the group activity can gain the respect and co-operation from the group —and its potential participants.
A Note about Language: Although not essential, there are significant advantages to be gained if the group leader (and sub-group leaders where applicable) have a good working knowledge of Spanish.
Choosing Your Destination(s) in Mexico
One of the first decisions to be taken will be where in Mexico you will travel to.
The Mexico Travel Guide on Mexperience is an excellent place to research the different destinations. Also see Choosing Your Location Type on our guide to Mexico Group Travel and Events.
Deciding Upon the Dates for Your Event in Mexico
You will also need to choose the best date(s) for your group travel and events. This may be dictated by operational requirements in companies and organizations, and perhaps available vacation time and school holidays when arranging private events. Seasons and climates may also influence your choice; see Seasonal Variations on our guide to Mexico Group Travel and Events.
How Big?
You'll also need to decide how big the group will be.
For business events, this might be determined by the size of the organization or department(s) taking part as well operational requirements.
For private and family events, this may be determined by personal and practical choices, for example, who should best attend, who is able to attend, who can afford to attend, and how large a group may be realistically managed.
Larger groups are best sub-divided into smaller groups by the leader, with a sub-group leader assigned to each, to make the management of the groups easier and more workable.
Whether you have a small or large group, a family, social or business event, Mexperience can help. Read our guide to Mexico Group Travel and Events for full details and contact information.
Travel Insurance
You should consider purchasing a group travel insurance policy that would cover all members attending the event in the circumstance of any mishaps, and which may also cover members in the event that one or more need to pull-out of the event, providing a refund of deposits (check the policy's small print for this). If you don't purchase a group travel insurance policy, all participants should be asked to purchase their own travel insurance policy to cover them while in Mexico. Also read the Guide to Mexico Insurance here on Mexperience.
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Inviting Potential Participants
The group leader should begin the process of inviting the potential participants as soon as possible, once the location, date(s) and group size(s) have been decided upon. If sub-groups are needed, the group leader should also identify and nominate sub-group leaders.
Length of Notice Given
Ideally, participants should be given at least one month's notice for business events and at least three months—but preferably six months or longer—of notice should be given for family and private events, as the participants will need to make personal, work and financial arrangements in order to be able to attend.
RSVP, Changes
Your invitation should set out the event, the location in Mexico where it will take place, what arrangements are being made for transportation to Mexico and within Mexico, and the costs should be clearly set out where participants are being asked to pay for their share of the event.
Your invitation should have a RSVP request with specific deadlines.
It's possible that not everyone you invite will be able to attend, and also probable that people who have confirmed will subsequently pull-out of the arrangements; this is especially true for larger group events.
Your invitation should clearly set-out cancellation policies in regard to any deposits paid to avoid bad feeling afterwards, should people who cannot subsequently attend lose any deposit they may have paid.
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Meeting and Communicating with Participants
When at least two-thirds of your group have confirmed their participation, you should hold a first "group meeting" about the event.
The meeting can be a physical meeting (where that is practical) or a virtual meeting (for example, by video conference on Skype), a conference call, or at very least, a group email.
Consider making extensive use of email, instant messaging and text messages to keep participants informed, especially when physical meetings are not practical.
The group leader (and sub-group leaders, where applicable) should keep the participants fully informed about the progress of the trip and event plans, ensuring that the information they give is clear, precise and accurate.
Schedule Changes
Any changes to schedules, venues or events should be clearly communicated well-ahead of time and, where date or time change is necessary, every participant should be contacted personally to ensure they received the change of schedule—don't just send an email or text message, unless there is plenty of time to ask for and receive confirmation from participants that they received the change of schedule; in the latter case, ensure everyone confirms they know about the changes and follow-up on anyone who has not responded.
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Preparing Participants for the Trip
In addition to the transport, venue, event and activities schedules, you should consider preparing your participants for their travel to Mexico ahead of time.
Mexperience.com is the ideal resource for this, as all of the information your participants will need is published right here.
The Travel Essentials Guide is a detailed and comprehensive section of the web site created to assist people in preparing completely for their travels to Mexico.
You may like to consider referring your participants to these pages as part of your communications work.
Highlights of the Travel Essentials Guide include:
Arrival in Mexico - which includes customs and immigration procedures; ensure your participants have their passports and (if required) visas in good order.
Getting Around Mexico - Using private and public transport, driving in Mexico, using taxis, bus and air travel.
Health and Safety - Advice for staying healthy and staying safe on your visit to Mexico.
Communications - Staying in touch while in Mexico; using mobile phones, email, internet access, making calls home, etc.
Money in Mexico - About Mexico's currency, getting access to your money from ATMs in Mexico, using banks and traveler's checks, money safety...
Practical Information - Advice on tips and tipping, photography etiquette, drinking water, and much more...
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Arranging Your Group Travel and Events in Mexico
When you're planning group travel to Mexico for an event, activity or celebration, and whether it's a private, family or business event, Mexperience can help you with the planning, organization and delivery of the event.
Making it Happen
Let Mexperience assist you with your group travel arrangements in Mexico: simply complete the Mexico Group Travel Request and a specialist consultant from our group travel team will be in touch with you to follow-up on your request, recommend destinations and venues and give you a no-obligation budgetary quote.
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