Biography

Jose Manuel is a self-made man, working his way up from his first job as a dry cleaning valet and then a bellman at the Acapulco Hilton Hotel. From that humble beginning in 1971, four years later he became groups and conventions manager at the Canadian Pacific Hotel. At age 25 he was appointed Mexico’s youngest ever director of sales with Continental Hotels. Garcia later served as regional sales and marketing director for Fiesta Americana, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels. In 1984 he was named to head up the sales and marketing team for the Hyatt Regency Cancun, and held that position until leaving to start his own company.

In November 1, 1986, together with his friends Dolores Lopez-Lira and Jose Luis Martinez of Lomas Travel Group, Mr. Garcia founded IVI. From that start-up enterprise as a ground operator in Cancun, Jose Manuel proved to be a visionary and a dynamic entrepreneur. By surrounding himself with other energetic people with an equally positive attitude, he has guided IVI to become the leading destination management company in the Americas. Jose Manuel also is highly active in the hospitality arena, and has overseen the birth of many interconnected partnerships and associated firms serving the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Events (MICE) industry in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Jose Manuel continues to be active in professional organizations important to the hospitality industry. He was president of the Acapulco chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), president of the Cancun Travel Agencies Association, and is a member of the board of directors for the Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME). Garcia also is the founder and current president of the Mexican Association of Destination Management Companies. He has received numerous awards recognizing his contributions to his profession, and serves as a consultant to many Mexican and international organizations in the hospitality industry.

Garcia has a graduate degree in tourism administration at the State University of Guerrero. He also has earned continuing education diplomas and certifications from Cornell University, Holiday Inn University, SITE, ADME, ISMP, MPI and HSMAI.

Jose-Manuel was born in Mexico City in 1951, raised in Acapulco, has lived in the Catskills in upstate New York., and now lives in Cancun. He and his wife, Araceli, have two children and two grand children. In his personal time he enjoys meeting people, reading, playing golf, tennis or bowling. In both his personal and professional life, Garcia credits his successes to following his philosophy that "attitude is everything.”