Good reasons to visit Mexico’s less-traveled destinations

San Francisco Chronicle, 5/21/2013

To anyone who was wondering whether President Enrique Peña Nieto would be as staunch an advocate of Mexico’s tourism industry as his predecessor had been didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Presenting his national tourism policy in February, he said he intended to turn Mexico into a world-class destination, and his new Secretary of Tourism, Claudia Ruiz Massieu, said tourism will be the “engine to drive development for all Mexicans.”

Though the presentation was laced through with government-speak and obviously aimed less at tourists than at economic policy-makers concerned with an industry that generates nearly 9 percent of Mexico’s gross domestic product, tourists could already see some of the results by the time Mexico’s annual Tianguis Turistico, Latin America’s biggest tourism trade event, took place in March. Mexico Mix previously covered some of the announcements  affecting visitors to some of the country’s most popular destinations in March.

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Mexico May Drop out of Top 10 Tourist Destinations

Associated Press, 3/19/2013

Mexico’s top tourism official said the country may drop out of the world’s top 10 tourist destinations, a spot it has held for years. Tourism Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu hasn’t said why the drop occurred, but there were declines in 2012 in two areas that have been affected by violence: border tourism and cruise ship stopovers.

The number of cruise ship passengers stopping in Mexico dropped 3 percent in 2012 and more than 15 percent over the past two years. The number of border visitors dropped 5.3 percent in 2012, according to Tourism Department figures. Mexican border cities such as Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo have experienced continued waves of drug cartel violence, and a number of cruise operators have dropped port calls along Mexico’s western Pacific coast. Both areas have been affected by drug-fueled violence that has cost more than 70,000 lives in the past six years.

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Can Billionaire Carlos Slim Return Acapulco To Its Past Glory?

Forbes, 2/12/2013

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim’s one-year effort to return Acapulco to its past glory has been overshadowed by the surge in drug-related killings, which nearly tripled in 2011 and made this port city in the southern state of Guerrero the second most violent city in the world in 2012.  In recent weeks Acapulco has been in the international news after five masked men broke into a beach hotel and raped six Spanish female tourists at midnight.  U.S. newspapers reported that the rapes have heightened fear and called into question the Mexican government’s ability to control crime and attract foreign visitors.

The crime, which took place in one of Mexico’s best known tourist resorts, was the most recent in a series of violent episodes that has tarnished the international image of what only a few decades ago was a favorite destination for celebrities, foreign leaders and American honeymooners. Acapulco and several other top beach resort cities  are the core of  the tourism industry,  Mexico’s third source of foreign exchange income after oil and remittances.Despite this grim picture, the Consulting Board for the Restoration of Traditional Acapulco, a group of leading Mexican businessmen created in February 2012 and headed by Slim, continues its efforts to pool funding from the state and federal governments, as well as from the private sector, to rescue Acapulco’s waterfront. “Those who do not invest and go slow because they have doubts will be left behind. I am not afraid of investing here in Acapulco,” Slim said in 2012.

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Mexican auto industry surpasses remittances (Spanish)

Reforma, 2/12/2013

Ni el petróleo, ni el turismo, ni las remesas: ahora, el mayor ingreso de divisas lo genera la industria automotriz. En 2012, este sector trajo a México 32 mil 244 millones de dólares, lo que fortaleció su liderazgo como el sector que más ingresos aporta al País.

Las divisas netas generadas por la exportación de los vehículos automotores han ido creciendo en los últimos años: las del 2012 fueron 11 por ciento superiores a las de 2011 y 194 por ciento más que las de 2000, según datos del Banco de México. Los autos de mayor exportación fueron el Nuevo Jetta; Fusion; Journey; Silverado 2500; Sentra; RAM 2500 y Versa.

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Mexico scrambles as violence threatens tourism zones

Los Angeles Times, 2/9/2013

You might be hard-pressed to find the word “Mexico” in some of the advertising for tourist resorts in Mexico. Brands like “Riviera Maya” often eclipse the name of the country where those lush beaches are located. As deadly violence that has haunted Mexico for years threatens tourist zones, government officials and trade executives are scrambling for ways to minimize damage to an industry that is a top income-earner and employer.

The rapes last week of six Spanish women vacationing in Acapulco have heightened fear and called into question the government’s ability to control crime and attract foreign visitors. It didn’t help that about the same time, Mexico’s minister of tourism was in, of all places, Spain, attempting to promote tourism. “This is Mexico’s moment,” was her theme.

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Rapes of tourists are latest blow to Mexico tourism

The Los Angeles Times, 2/6/2013

Despite past assurances that tourists are safe in their country, Mexican tourism officials are again faced with trying to explain away another report of crime against foreign visitors. The latest incident took place in the resort town of Acapulco, where six Spanish tourists on vacation were raped Sunday by masked gunmen.

Crime tied to drug violence has reduced the number of tourists from the U.S. to Mexico in recent years but Mexican tourism officials have responded by targeting travelers from countries such as Russia, Brazil, Peru and Colombia. Despite the violence, Mexico predicts it will host 24.7 million foreign visitors in 2012, surpassing last year’s record of 23.4 million. But the latest crime report will only make it harder for Mexico to shrug off the incidents of crime in tourist towns as isolated and rare, experts say.

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Mexico’s Las Vegas consul to leave

Las Vegas Review-Journal, 12/25/2012

Mariano Lemus Gas is leaving Las Vegas after eight years as chief of the Mexican Consulate in Nevada. The change in leadership, already known in some circles of the Southern Nevada Hispanic community, was announced after he returned from the inauguration of Enrique Peña Nieto as Mexico’s new president. Lemus Gas said his departure is unrelated to the change in government. Rotations are routine in the diplomatic service, he said, and he spent much longer than expected in Las Vegas after his January 2005 arrival. His replacement, as yet unnamed, will take over on Jan. 22.

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Mexico Prepares to Host 94th Session of UNWTO Executive Council

Sacramento Bee, 10/24/2012

Mexico is prepared for the arrival of the Ministers of Tourism and national representatives attending the 94th Session of the Executive Council of the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), to be held on October 24 and 25 in the city of Campeche. The meeting will be attended by representatives from more than 50 nations, who will analyze the current state of tourism and align strategies to meet their objectives – increased global visitor numbers and job creation.

Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara, said that the selection of Mexico as the venue for this important event is an honor for Mexico amongst the UNWTO member countries.

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Resorts Make Pitch for Mexico’s Reputation

The Wall Street Journal, 9/5/12

For years, Mexico has waged a costly battle against drug and gang violence that has led to thousands of deaths and tarnished the country’s reputation.

Now it is taking on another fight: to convince tourists that some of its most popular resorts still are safe…

Many Americans are playing it safe and staying away from the entire country. “The perception of violence has definitely been a challenge in specific areas of Mexico and has slowed down investment and travel within the region,” says Laura Botelho, a spokeswoman for Marriott International, which manages 20 hotels in Mexico including the Ritz Carlton in Cancun.

Mexico has accounted for only about 10% of AMT Travel’s business for the past three years, says Frank Morgan, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for AMT, the travel representative for American Express Travel in West Covina, Calif. That is down from a peak of 60% seven years ago, he says.

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Controversy in Mexico over changes to and use of Mayan palaces, Aztec pyramids

The Washington Post, 9/28/12

Mexicans are taught to revere their pre-Columbian roots. So some archaeologists are outraged by what they view as the government’s failure to safeguard the nation’s Mayan palaces and Aztec pyramids.

A recent decision by the government to erect a glass-and-steel facade on a portion of the historic Fort of Guadalupe in Puebla in time for the Sept. 15 Mexican independence celebrations was the last straw. The archaeologists have occupied Mexico’s prestigious National Museum of Anthropology, telling visitors that taking liberties with federally protected buildings was becoming commonplace.

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