Thread: Mexican officials: new passport rules, fewer visitors

Mexican officials say new passport rules may lead to fewer visitors

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer |
Sunday, April 26, 2009 6:32 PM PDT ∞

Mexican merchants who cater to Americans say they worry that new rules requiring Americans to have passports will lead to fewer visitors south of the border.

"I think this is going to affect tourism very much," said Hugo Torres, the mayor of Rosarito Beach, a popular beachside resort town about 20 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Torres, who also owns the historic Rosarito Beach Hotel, and others say many visitors are day-trippers who decide on a whim to go for the day to dine and shop.

Merchants in Mexico already have been hammered by the U.S.'s sagging economy, the ongoing and increasingly bloody drug war and the hours-long border waits, all of which have contributed to fewer visitors traveling to the area.

Torres said his city experienced a 50 percent drop over last year in visitors during the usually busy Spring Break period earlier this month. He attributed much of the slide on media depictions of the area's drug violence, which has claimed hundreds of lives over the last year.

Federal travel warnings about the violence did not help matters, Torres said. The mayor and U.S. officials say tourists are not the targets of the cartels.

http://nctimes.com/articles/2009/04/26/ ... 681672.txt

American Citizens STAY OUT OF MEXICO!

It is going to affect short vacations and day trips for alot of places. It's not worth it for me to spend over a 100 per family member to cross the border even to Canada for a day. I can't imagine going to Niagara Falls and missing the Canadian side....that was the best part to me. I have no desire and never did to go to Mexico, but I did enjoy the freedom to cross to Canada. It will effect Jamaica and a host of places for those of us who can't afford to be world travelers, but would like to go someplace close for something new.

How much will the passport card cost?

For first time applicants, the passport card will cost $45 for adults and $35 for minors under age 16. Adults with fully-valid passports issued within the last fifteen years who are eligible to submit Form DS-82 by mail, will pay only $20 for a passport card.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_ca ... _3921.html

I really have no desire to go anywhere outside this country again and my passport expired in the 1990s. I have had a great time going to some small town on the map, maybe even staying overnight in some quaint hotel and talking to the local people. In Georgia, I had to stop at a gas station to ask how to get back to the main road, and directions were real simple: turn a half a mile before I get to the old oak tree.
In New Hampshire, I picked up a local newspaper, and front page was a community mystery story: Ralph ran a load of white laundry at the local laundromat and it came out pink!
Parks are also a good place to go to unwind and just to walk.