EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Regional leaders turned out in force on Tuesday to support a new digital tourism initiative geared toward business travelers and millennials.
The Visit the Borderplex campaign includes a mobile phone app, maps and interactive digital screens to be placed in the lobby of 50 hotels in El Paso, Juarez, Mexico and Las Cruces, New Mexico. The BPX app can be downloaded free from Google Play or Apple IOS.
“Very often we hear people say, ‘there’s nothing to do in Juarez, or El Paso or Las Cruces.’ But there’s a lot to do and this digital platform lets you pick a language, pick an area of interest to see what’s available near you,” said Luis Fernando Rodriguez, director of Big Media, the group behind the effort.
Already 560 businesses on both sides of the border have signed up to promote their services in the digital platform.
Rodriguez said those companies would be sending offers through the app to users. Service providers include medical and dental offices, restaurants and retail stores, and even commercial and immigration lawyers.
He said the digital platform would cater to business travelers, younger tourists, medical and immigration tourism. The latter consists of tens of thousands of residents from the interior of Mexico who every year come to the U.S. Consulate in Juarez for visas and other services.
Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, whose maternal grandparents were born in Mexico and whose wife is from Juarez, endorsed the new platform. “This app allows all those who don’t know about our beautiful area to experience what Las Cruces, El Paso and Juarez all have to offer,” said Miyagishima, reminiscing about family excursions to his grandmother’s house and visits to Juarez’s Shangri-La restaurant.
Some attractions to see in Las Cruces include Old Mesilla Village, the Farmers and Crafts Market, various museums and hiking in Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.
Juarez Mayor Armando Cabada said his administration would be promoting the city in the interactive platform.
“It will be a useful tool to promote our city and we will take advantage of it. … I will be encouraging my fellow mayors to use this tool to promote our region jointly,” Cabada said at the unveiling of Visit the Borderplex, which took place at Juarez’s Technology Hub building.
El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez and representatives from the El Paso Chamber and the Economic Development Department also attended to endorse the digital tourism initiative.
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