Sefotur delivers Certificate of Good Sanitary Practices to the Mérida International Congress Center

Mérida, Yucatán, August 27, 2020. To continue working on Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal’s task of creating safe environments for the population and visitors to the state, the Secretary of Tourism Development (Sefotur) delivered the Certificate of Good Health Practices Yucatán to the International Congress Center (CIC).

The importance of this certification for the CIC stands out as it is one of the venues belonging to the MICE sector of the State through the Yucatán Meetings brand, which is responsible for selling the destination, including all venues and public and private rooms that have the characteristics for tourism of meetings and attraction of all kinds of events and with which not only shows the implementation of the strictest health security measures necessary for holding events under the new normal but also represents the effort and SEFOTUR’s commitment to the Yucatan tourism sector.

During the event, held in the main square of the CIC with the presence of its staff, General Director Virginia Arana Pérez, commented that “the Yucatán Meetings team is very proud to have obtained the Certificate of Good Sanitary Practices for the Yucatan International Congress Center. We are committed to the health of our clients and collaborators, through the adequate execution of protocols for venues ”.

Michelle Fridman Hirsch, head of Sefotur, highlighted that “this certificate, which positions us as a world benchmark in biosafety, now reaches our International Congress Center, as a benchmark that our MICE segment, which represents 1.5 percent of the national GDP and an enormous contribution to our state, begin with a gradual process of reactivation using the best sanitary practices ”.

It is worth mentioning that the CIC is one of the most important venues in the meeting segment in Yucatán, in addition to having state-of-the-art technology thanks to its LEED Green Building certification system at the Platinum level, which meets the energy leadership requirements. and environmental design, which makes it an ecologically responsible building.

This space has 50 thousand square meters of total construction and, of these, almost 10 thousand, on two floors, are for holding events, divided into 26 rooms. It is the only site of its kind, with a natural cenote inside, which is considered an emblematic element of the city’s dedication and commitment to sustainable development.

As mentioned previously, the Yucatan Good Health Practices Certificate was designed with a high sense of sustainability and social responsibility, in the hands of the Ministry of Health (SSY), academic institutions and international organizations.

This strategy is based on protocols for the prevention of the spread of infections, with the objectives of providing health certainty to the sector’s value chain, inspiring confidence in visitors and, above all, protecting people’s health.

It considers current scientific information, procedures to prevent the spread of infections (POSI), international recommendations and quality schemes such as “Clean Point”, and the “H” Distinctive, as well as sustainable principles of care in tourist centers during the contingency by Covid-19, issued by the Secretariats of Federal Health (SS) and Tourism (Sectur).

It is also important to remember that, during the first stage of the training provided by Sefotur, which is totally free, up to 1,200 companies and service providers were reached, which includes more than 2,000 members of the Crisis Management Team, with benefits for 48 thousand employees, as well as a social impact on more than 136 thousand people.

In this way, on August 17, the first certificates were delivered to 57 companies of the different tourist areas, as well as 97 guides and tourist guide associations from different municipalities. Starting next week, at least 100 other companies and service providers are expected to receive their certificate.

The methodology of this certification was ratified by the SSY, with the support of specialists endorsed by SECTUR. In turn, it has the approval of the Secretariat of Tourism of Quintana Roo and the support of both the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), with the Safe Travels seal, and the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY).

The quality and depth of the scheme allow an easy adaptation to existing international guidelines and federal schemes, so for Yucatecan companies, it will be easy to obtain an eventual regional, national or global homologation, and the updating of protocols, if necessary.

The Certificate, at no cost for service providers in this first stage, is easy to implement at any level of previous accreditation. 

The business registry began on March 27 and is still open, just go to www.certificaturismo.yucatan.gob.mx