The story repeats for Michelle Fridman Hirsch. Originally from Mexico City, she arrived in Yucatán six years ago to head the Secretariat of Tourism Promotion as an unknown to local industry entrepreneurs. Now, the former state official will become the Secretary of Tourism for Jalisco, where businesspeople know little about her and have decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Thus, the appointed official will move from a PAN administration, where she faced several controversies including serious accusations from tourism entrepreneurs, to a Citizen Movement administration, which will begin on December 6.
Michelle Fridman, Secretary of Tourism in Jalisco
Last week, the governor-elect Pablo Lemus Navarro announced the appointment of the public relations specialist and reiterated that Puerto Vallarta and the Costa Alegre of Jalisco will be promoted as beach tourist destinations, along with a fund of one hundred million pesos for the Magic Towns program.
Lemus referred to her as a young woman with a very extensive career in the private and public sectors. “She has been a great signing, because it took many weeks to convince Michelle to accept this great challenge,” he commented.
Sharing part of her resume, the governor-elect of Jalisco highlighted that she has more than 80 recognitions and “the most important is having been ‘Best Secretary of Tourism’ during her tenure in Yucatán.” He also said she was awarded the tourism medal by the French Government and the Canadian Tourism Commission Award.
According to him, “Michelle Fridman positioned Yucatán within the Top 10 states with the highest contribution to the country’s GDP, even above the average.”
For her part, the former head of Sefotur announced that she already has a plan of 10 proposals to strengthen the sector in that state. She spoke about decentralizing tourism and the State Tourism Policy.
She explained that this plan includes the design, planning, and evaluation from a Tourism Observatory with a Tourism Intelligence Center, coupled with a security strategy. Additionally, she offered investment in tourism infrastructure, as well as “connecting Jalisco by air, land, and sea.” She also talked about consolidating the state as an epicenter for meetings and major international events.
What do Jalisco’s entrepreneurs think about Michelle Fridman?
Regarding her arrival, Miguel Ángel Landeros Volquarts, president of the Western Mexican Council for Foreign Trade (Comce), described the appointment of Mauro Garza Marín, Coordination of Growth and Economic Development, whose appointment was made along with Michelle Fridman’s, as accurate.
“In the case of the Secretary of Tourism, despite understanding that there are profiles (in the entity) that surely would have been up to the level of that important exposure, we understand that she does have the curriculum capacity to be at the forefront,” said the businessman in statements reproduced by the newspaper Mural.
On the other hand, the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce highlighted Garza’s business career and expressed confidence in Fridman to boost tourism in the state.
“We welcome Michelle Fridman to Jalisco. We applaud her experience and trust that she will know how to guide one of the states in Mexico with the greatest tourism potential,” it said in a statement.
Michelle Fridman in Yucatán
In Yucatán, Michelle Fridman’s administration had several controversial episodes. The most recent involved accusations from tourism entrepreneurs about alleged misuse of resources and claims of poor management in her department.
Last August, it was reported that members of the Tourism Promotion Trust questioned the management of the funds approved for Sefotur. Businessmen were asked if they knew whether the 100 million budget granted to the agency had been used.
“We don’t know. What we are going to do is conduct an audit to determine if the investments have a significant impact because it had a generous budget,” said Domínguez Tiburcio.
Controversies of Michelle Fridman
Another incident was the million-dollar contract with the company Magnos for organizing the Trova Festival in 2019. Finally, the State Government announced its break with the company after it was revealed that there were three investigation files against the firm in Morelos for organizing overpriced events.
That same year, during a breakfast with journalists, the official mentioned that in Progreso it is necessary to work…, because “it is very complicated, it is easier to erase it from the map and rebuild it.” These statements caused various reactions.
Who is Michelle Fridman?
Michelle describes herself on her social networks as a “tourism promoter for many years.” Born in Mexico City in 1982, she graduated from the Fermatta Academy and Berklee College in Boston with a degree in music. She also studied Latin American Literature at the Universidad Latinoamericana and has completed several diplomas in Tourism and Marketing.
She was head of the Yucatán Government’s Tourism Promotion Secretariat (2018-2024) and is the founder of Eme Media Com, a public relations agency for the tourism industry.
Her professional career began in independent record labels, and in 2006 she joined Putumayo World Music, a renowned record company in New York. There, she held the position of Director of Public Relations and Marketing for Latin America.
She has participated as a speaker at various universities and organizations. She has also collaborated with prominent media outlets such as ADN 40, Bloomberg, Grupo Fórmula, and Rolling Stone Mexico.
Source: Diario de Yucatan
