Thread: Mexico sets tourism record despite drug violence

Mexico sets tourism record despite drug violence

February 13, 2012 | 12:58pm

REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY — Mexico attracted a record number of foreign visitors last year despite a frightening drug war that is prompting travel warnings for a number of areas around the country.

Mexico’s tourism agency released new figures (link in Spanish) showing that the number of foreign travelers arriving by air in 2011 rose to 22.7 million, the most since the Bank of Mexico began keeping track in 1980. There was growth in each of the last five months of the year, officials said.

Tourism also got a boost from Mexican travelers, who registered 167 million visits to tourist spots. The total of Mexican and foreign tourists was 2% higher than for 2008, which had been the best year on record.

The number of air travelers from the United States to Mexico fell by 3% last year, but tourists from other countries — especially Brazil, Russia, Peru and China — registered sizable increases over 2010.

The enduring carnage of the drug war, with about 50,000 dead in the last five years, has generated substantial media coverage abroad.

Travel operators and Mexican resorts have sought to fill rooms by offering discounts in places such as Acapulco, now among the deadliest spots in the country, though most of the violence occurs far from the main tourist strip. Mexico remains a relatively affordable destination and, generally speaking, the tourist centers of well-known resort areas such as Cancun and Los Cabos have not suffered drug-related slayings.

The State Department’s latest travel warning for Mexico says Americans should avoid travel in parts or all of 14 states around the country, and several others where travelers should exercise caution.

Last week’s warning is more detailed than prior announcements about potential trouble spots and the perils there. Few major tourist areas are mentioned, though travelers are urged to exercise caution in Acapulco, Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo — all in the violence-plagued state of Guerrero — and in Mazatlan, a popular beach spot in the northwestern state of Sinaloa where killings have soared since 2009.

Tourism is one of Mexico's top sources of foreign income.

Mexico sets tourism record despite drug violence - latimes.com

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f12/15-000-chin...ricans-250794/

RELATED

VACATION DESTINATION MEXICO BLOODBATH - 120 Americans murdered in Mexico last year

What they failed to mention is that many of these "tourists" that are entering Mexico never departed by plane.

They landed in Mexico and crossed north illegally into the United States flooding in from China, India, Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc...

The whole world knows the Southern Border of the US has been forced wide open by treasonous politicians and their corporate and banking partners.

Just get to Mexico, head north, pay the smugglers, walk into the US one night and your chances of deportation are less than 1%.

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

What they failed to mention is that many of these "tourists" that are entering Mexico never departed by plane.

They landed in Mexico and crossed north illegally into the United States flooding in from China, India, Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc...

The whole world knows the Southern Border of the US has been forced wide open by treasonous politicians and their corporate and banking partners.

Just get to Mexico, head north, pay the smugglers, walk into the US one night and your chances of deportation are less than 1%.

W

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article source is L.A. Times, which is an extension of the Mexican government.

Foreign tourists shrug off Mexico drug violence

(AFP)

MEXICO CITY — Ignoring gruesome news stories of ongoing drug violence, Mexico for the third consecutive year saw an increase in foreign visitors, government tourism figures out Monday showed.

Some 22.6 million foreigners visited Mexico in 2011, just slightly less than the record 23 million in 2008, the office of Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara said in a statement.

The figure is two percent higher than 2010, and 5.7 percent higher than 2009, the statement said.

Tourism is Mexico's third most important source of hard currency, after oil exports and remittances by Mexicans living abroad.

Foreign tourists last year also spent more money, on average $158 per day -- a seven percent increase over 2010 figures, which had been the record high.

Mexico's main source of foreign visitors is the United States, which saw a three percent drop in 2011 compared to the previous year.

However there was a seven percent increase in Canadian visitors to 1.7 million, the figures showed.

Mexico saw a 55 percent increase in visitors from Russia; a 13 percent increase from Italy; and a 10 percent increase from France.

Mexico is also the most important tourist destination for Latin Americans, the statement read.

AFP: Foreign tourists shrug off Mexico drug violence

Ignoring gruesome news stories of ongoing drug violence, Mexico for the third consecutive year saw an increase in foreign visitors, government tourism figures out Monday showed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unless Mexico considers U.S. Citizens to be Mexican citizens and not foreigners, this is an ABSOLUTE LIE.

Mexico's main source of foreign visitors is the United States, which saw a three percent drop in 2011 compared to the previous year.

However there was a seven percent increase in Canadian visitors to 1.7 million, the figures showed.

Mexico saw a 55 percent increase in visitors from Russia; a 13 percent increase from Italy; and a 10 percent increase from France.

Mexico is also the most important tourist destination for Latin Americans, the statement read.

AFP: Foreign tourists shrug off Mexico drug violence

Why would all of these people go to Mexico?

RELATED

Mexico has five of the top 10 most violent cities in the world

The rankings come as little surprise, given the rash of violence associated with Mexico's war on drugs. El Periódico de Catalunya reports that on Thursday a group of hitmen allegedly murdered a man outside of an elementary school as classes let out in front of dozens of parents and teachers in Ciudad Juárez, the No. 2 most-violent city.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Why would all of these people go to Mexico?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Who is naive enough to believe the propaganda of one of the most corrupt governments on earth?

RELATED

Mexico Tourism Feels Chill of Ongoing Drug Violence
By NICHOLAS CASEY And ALEXANDRA BERZON

MEXICO CITY—For several years, Mexico's tourism industry has weathered the storm of violence in the country, persuading vacationers to visit its beaches and ancient ruins on promises that drug-related crime wouldn't affect their travels.



Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Police confront a gang in Acapulco, a resort town marred by violence.

This year, those assurances might not be enough. Many American travelers are turning their backs on Mexico, put off by some gruesome headlines.

Owners of leading tour operators, including American Express Co., have seen sharp declines in American visitors since the first of the year. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. recently told analysts the drug wars had "decimated leisure travel" at its Mexican resorts. Three top cruise lines say they've canceled service to Mazatlán, a resort hub that's also become the site of a drug cartel turf war.

"It's very hard for me to think that I'm going to convince someone who lives in Des Moines to take their first international trip to Mexico now," says Trip Barrett, Starwood's vice president of brand management in Latin America. He says violence in Mexico and better deals elsewhere are driving down visitors this year.

American Express's tour operator Travel Impressions says it sent 100,000 passengers to Mexico last year but has seen about a 15% decline in bookings this year for independent travelers, meaning those who aren't part of a group.



Associated Press Musicians stroll along a deserted beach in Acapulco, Mexico, looking for clients willing to pay for a song.

"Literally, it's just been a continual barrage of stories of finding beheaded bodies and unearthed graves," said John Hanratty, the company's chief marketing officer.

Tourism is a $12 billion-a-year industry for Mexico. Some 22.4 million tourists visited in 2010, up about 4.4% from the year before. But 2009 was affected more by the economic crisis and the "swine flu" outbreak than the drug violence, even though the violence has claimed nearly 40,000 lives since 2006.

Data compiled by Smith Travel Research, a firm that monitors hotel occupancies among large chains, show occupancy in Mexico so far this year either flat or declining across many mid-range hotel chains, though there were some modest gains on the higher end.

A spokesman from Internet booking company Orbitz Worldwide Inc.wouldn't provide specific figures, but said travel to Mexico is lagging significantly behind previous years. Orbitz cites safety fears and last year's bankruptcy of Mexican airline Cia. Mexicana de Aviación, which led to higher airfares among remaining players.

Mexico's tourism officials acknowledge the challenge but say business remains vibrant and most of the violence is not in tourist districts. "There are still travelers coming to Mexico," says Mexico's Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara.


Mexican President Felipe Calderón recently met with 22 tourist-industry CEOs during a Las Vegas convention to calm jitters. "I saw thousands of spring breakers in Mexico having fun. My understanding is the only shots they received were tequila shots," he quipped before an audience during the visit.

The majority of violence is between drug cartels and isn't directed at foreigners, says Alfonso Sumano of the Mexico Tourism Board, the ministry's arm that works with the private sector. "They are not going after tourists," he says.

Still, last October, a Canadian visiting Acapulco on business was found dead in his charred rental car after disappearing in the beach town. In January, another Canadian was shot in the leg during a firefight that erupted in Mazatlán. He survived but shortly afterward three luxury cruise lines— Walt Disney Co.'s Disney Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Star Cruise Ltd's Norwegian Cruise Line—canceled service to the port.

According to the U.S. State Department, 107 Americans were killed in homicides in Mexico last year, up from 77 the year before and twice the figure before the drug wars began. The agency doesn't break out tourists from the figures.
Rodolfo López-Negrete, chief operating officer of the tourism board, said he hoped visitors would realize the majority of violence takes place near the border, not in tourist districts.

Acapulco, however, presents a troubling case, tourism companies say. The resort town has also become a major theater of the drug war: On a single weekend this year, more than 30 bodies were found, including night-club workers abducted after hours and later found hanging from a bridge.

Acapulco's violence is affecting resorts that are hundreds of miles away, according to Starwood's Mr. Barrett."When the Joneses hear 'Acapulco,' they know it's a resort," and then other resorts suffer by association, he says. He pointed to recent declines over the usually booked Easter holiday in Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos, where Starwood operates more than 1,200 rooms under its Westin and Sheraton brands. Puerto Vallarta is about 450 miles from Acapulco and Los Cabos, at the southern end of the Baja peninsula, is even further. But vacancies were high enough that Starwood began offering all-inclusive meal packages and fourth-night-free discounts.

Many foreign hotel companies are banking on security improvement in the long-term and are continuing with development projects in Mexico, according to the Mexican government.

Starwood, which says Mexico remains its sixth-largest country, recently opened a St. Regis in Mexico City and will open a Westin in Guadalajara in August. Hilton Worldwide, the closely held chain that owns brands including Hampton Inns, has plans for 12 new hotels, five of them to open this year, although none is along the border or in Acapulco.

"The perceived situation has been challenging at best to manage," says Terry Dale, president of the U.S. Tour Operators Association, a trade group. "But Mexico is part of the business. It's not going anywhere."

Mexican Tourism Declines as Drug Violence Escalates - WSJ.com