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Courtesy, Fox News Latino, May 2, 2011
Ninety-nine percent of foreign tourists who visit Mexico leave the country with the idea of recommending it to others "as a great destination," according to a government survey to which Efe had access Monday.
The study says that last year "99 percent of foreign tourists said they would recommend visiting" Mexico's leading tourist spots, 2 percent more than the year before.
Another statistic related to foreign visitors shows that 98 percent of those who were in the country said they would return, 1 percentage point higher than in 2009.
With regard to domestic tourists, the proportion that suggests to other people that they visit the country's most popular colonial areas, archaeological sites or oceanside resorts increased from 95 percent to 98 percent
Last year Mexico's tourism industry brought in revenues of $11.87 billion, a sum that topped by 5.3 percent the amount in 2009, according to official figures.
A total of 22.4 million people visited the country in 2010, representing 4.4 percent more than in 2009, and more than the 22 million tourists in 2008.
Mexican authorities expect foreign investment of some $3.5 billion in the tourism sector over the next three years, an amount expected to create some 20,000 jobs.
At the beginning of the year, the Mexican government declared 2011 as Tourism Year in an attempt to relaunch a sector that had been battered by the global recession and by the swine-flu outbreak of 2009.
Tourism is Mexico's third-biggest source of revenue after oil exports and remittances from emigrants in the United States.
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Improving Mexican economy draws undocumented immigrants home from California.
By Stephen Magagnini
smagagnini@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Jul. 28, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
There are fewer undocumented immigrants in California – and the Sacramento region – because many are now finding the American dream south of the border.
"It's now easier to buy homes on credit, find a job and access higher education in Mexico," Sacramento's Mexican consul general, Carlos González Gutiérrez, said Wednesday. "We have become a middle-class country."
Mexico's unemployment rate is now 4.9 percent, compared with 9.4 percent joblessness in the United States. An estimated 300,000 undocumented immigrants have left California since 2008, though the remaining 2.6 million still make up 7 percent of the population and 9 percent of the labor force, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
Among metropolitan areas with more than 1 million residents, Sacramento County ranks among the lowest, with an unauthorized population of 4.6 percent of its 1.4 million residents in 2008, according to Laura Hill, a demographer with the PPIC.
The Sacramento region, suffering from 12.3 percent unemployment and the construction bust, may have triggered a large exodus of undocumented immigrants, González Gutiérrez said.
The best-paid jobs for undocumented migrants are in the building industry, "and because of the severe crisis in the construction business here, their first response has been to move into the service industry," González Gutiérrez said. "But that has its limits. Then, they move to other areas in the U.S. to find better jobs – or back to Mexico."
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Mexico is one of the world's most incredibly diverse travel destinations. Whatever your vacation wishes, Mexico will make them come true. Come for a week or a month and you'll never run out of things to do; even if all you want to do is relax!
Are you the outdoors type? You will find championship golf courses, snorkeling and scuba diving on some of the world's greatest coral reefs, hiking, rainforests, jungles and much more. In a matter of days, you can go from exploring a desert to standing on a snow-capped mountain. The sun worshippers will find the beaches of Mexico the best in the world. Miles upon miles of unspoiled sand awaits you! How about taking a walk among some of the most vast and fascinating ancient ruins in the world? If you're a history buff, Mexico will captivate you and keep you spellbound. The Aztecs and Mayans left their marks with temples, cities and towns both world-famous and barely explored.
Please click on some of the links below to access information about Mexico.
Reality Check: How Dangerous is Mexico for Canadian Tourists?
(Courtesy CBC)
High-profile attacks on Canadians in Mexico have put the popular tourist destination in the hot seat.
But it may not be as dangerous a place for travellers as you think.
On average, three Canadians for every 100,000 visiting Mexico are killed or assaulted per year, according to more than a decade's worth of data from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Please click her for the full CBC report.
Image problem notwithstanding, Mexico has long been the top foreign country visited by Americans and is expecting a record-setting year for tourism.
Tourist Destinations in Mexico are “Perfectly Safe”
The MEXICO Report
MEXICO CITY — The following was released by Marca Pais - Imagen de Mexico:
In a recent interview with CNN, the Consejo de Promocion Turistica de Mexico‘s (CPTM) chief operating officer Rodolfo Lopez Negrete reassured visitors about the safety of tourist destinations in Mexico. The recent escalation of the violence in Mexico between rival drug cartels and the security forces in Mexico has affected the flow of American and international tourists into the country. According to Mr. Lopez Negrete, major tourist destinations in Mexico are “perfectly safe” and the CPTM is confident that the number of tourists will increase this year.
2010 was a good year for Mexico, where more than 22 million visitors are estimated to have entered the country. In his interview, Mr. Lopez Negrete said that the CPTM is aware of the negative impact the violence in Mexico has had on tourism and has put a plan together until 2018 with the goal of increasing business from 22.4 million to 26 million tourists.
The CPTM wants to tell the “untold story” said Mr. Lopez Negrete. The violence occurs in specific areas thousands of miles away from the major destinations such as Cancun and Cabo which remain extremely safe for visitors.
Mr. Lopez Negrete said that “seventy five percent of the total number” of tourists that visited Mexico last year were from the U.S. and Canada and that the U.S. alone “generates 6.5 million tourists” that fly in to the country out of the total 10 million visitors that arrive by air.
Given Mexico’s diversity which combines the “fantastic sun-and-beach resorts with the wonderful cultural wealth” the country is considered to be a very attractive destination for summer travel.
SOURCE Marca Pais - Imagen de Mexico
6 Reasons Why Mexico Is Safer Than You Think
Topics: Mexico Safety
Written by: Visit Mexico
Published: Monday, May 2, 2011
News headlines reporting drug-related violence in Mexico have caused people to question safety and security in Mexico by default. To provide some perspective, listed here are six reasons which demonstrate that Mexico’s drug-related issues, although real and in need of addressing by governments, do not make Mexico wholly unsafe, nor do they foretell a collapse of the Mexican State.
Visitor numbers are rising: The Bank of Mexico is responsible for collating and publishing foreign visitor statistics. Earlier this year, the figures showed that over 22 million foreign visitors arrived in Mexico in 2010—a rise on 2009′s figures and one of the highest recorded numbers since these records began. Despite the swine-flu of 2009, the global economic crisis, and the drug-violence, people keep coming to Mexico. Statistics from foreign consulate records show that the overwhelming majority of visits to Mexico are trouble-free.
Mexico’s economy grew at 5.5% in 2010. Industrialized nations turn green with envy just thinking of Mexico’s economic growth rate. Years of sound economic governance, shrewd investment, and relatively low debt (public and private) have created an attractive environment for investors and foreign companies. Furthermore, Mexico is now one of the world’s few ‘trillion dollar’ economies, and mature nations are today falling over themselves to work with Mexico—if you don’t believe this, look up how many foreign trade missions have been taking place here in the last couple of years, led by top politicians and ministers of the respective countries vying for a piece of Mexican pie.
No expat exodus. In decades past, when Mexico’s economy was less certain and less stable, foreign expats would often flee home in the event of a peso crisis. Today, even with the drug-related violence playing out, no such exodus is taking place and, furthermore, interest in relocations to Mexico is rising. Mexico’s government is fully expecting its expat communities to grow over the coming decade and beyond, and has been working to facilitate this process, as the financial and cultural benefits it brings are significant. If Mexico is a wholly dangerous place to be, why are existing expats staying put and inquiries for relocations to Mexico increasing?
Most people remain unaffected by the drug-related violence. Recent figures published by the Mexican government showed that most of the homicides in the country over the last few years have comprised of gang members killing other gang members. Tourists, business visitors, and foreign expats are not being affected by the drug-gangs, and statistics show that the overwhelming majority of visits to Mexico pass by trouble-free.
Mexico matters: the neighbor to the south of the U.S. is one of the world’s most important nations—poised to play a major role in world affairs during the 21st century. Its shared land border with the States is a primary reason why drug lords want control of the overland trade routes into seemingly insatiable U.S. narcotic markets, where the illegal substances they peddle are readily available to those who seek them. For these reasons and others, the matter will not be resolved by Mexico alone, but by Mexico and the U.S. working in partnership.
Mexico’s underlying story is strong and getting stronger. Notwithstanding the current drug-related violence, the country’s macro economics are in good shape; Mexico has substantial oil and gas reserves as well as considerable mineral and precious metal wealth; foreign visitors keep coming back to visit despite the unsavory news headlines; foreign governments are actively courting trade and commerce with Mexico; expats living here are going about their lives normally; statistics continue to show that Mexico’s levels of general crime and violence continue to be lower than those of most large U.S. cities; foreign expats we talk with say that they feel safer here in Mexico than they do in their home country.
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RV's In Mexico
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RV SAFETY IN MEXICO by: David Eidell
Newspaper reports have been reporting robberies and sometimes even murders of American and Canadian tourists in Mexico. Most of the reports are true and accurate. Crime is on the increase in Mexico, as it is elsewhere in the world. Mexican citizens are outraged at the idea of having crime infect their peaceful country and much pressure is being put on state and federal law enforecent agencies to curb crime and the criminals that cause crime. Is Mexico safe for tourists? You bet it is! The most effective way to deal with crime is to avoid the situations that encourage it. Most R.V. visitors to Mexico tend to live and travel quite conservatively. Around eight thousand RV's made the winter trek to Baja and to Mexico's west coast in 1998, and almost without exception all returned to the U.S. and Canada, without experiencing any problems at all. Another thousand or two ventured into Mexico's heartland through Texas, and travelled throughout Central and Southern Mexico, including Yucatan and Chiapas. A few travellers reported that they were robbed "at gunpoint" while visiting Mexico City (on foot). Two Nevada men were murdered in their sleep while camped out on a beach in Baja California, about two hundred miles south of San Diego. A handful of RV visitors complained of having their rigs broken into and applicances stolen while they were away visiting or out fishing. In another case three RV's were robbed at gunpoint while camped alongside a major highway. Visitors can avoid just about all of the situations that encourage criminals to make them a target. Most crimes occur because visitors don't understand Mexico nor Mexican social customs. Mexican citizens are very aware of crime tharwting techniques, but most visitors never give themselves an opportunity to learn from their neighbors. Here are some techniques and wisdom that I've acquired over the years: 1. Organized RV parks are almost immune to serious crime. Petty theft is not uncommon however, especially if careless campers leave expensive fishing reels and cameras laying around outside. RV parks are extrmemly common on the Baja peninsula and on Mexico's west coast as far down as Manzanillo (200 miles past Puerto Vallarta). 2. So called "highway robberies" occur at night. We've romanticized the thought of "Robin Hood" stepping out of the forest and waylaying an ornate coach. The wealthy passengers are forced to hand over their purses and pocketbooks, and with a mighty laugh Robin and his bunch of merry men haul their booty away into the forest gloom. Now if Mr. and Mrs. Smith were waylaid in their Winnebago, by Robin Garcia and Little Juan, you can bet that they would be all over The Sheriff of Nottingham, and the Queen herself, to track down the assailants (using nerve gas if necessary). Don't drive at night, and you won't be asked to pay an "unauthorized toll" on some lonely two lane strech of highway. Mex 1, the Baja transpeninsular highway is safe to travel, as are highways 15 and 200 on Mexico's west coast. 3. Keep the drapes pulled if you're going to exit your vehicle for any length of time. This keeps prying eyes from doing an inventory of your belongings. Motor homes are seldom stolen (hard to hide and dispose of), but money, jewelery, cameras, VCR and television items are prime rip-off items. Installing a an additional deadbolt that is keyed from both outside and inside will prevent potential burglars from opening your door from the inside by moving the latch to the unlocked position. 4. Make your own "safety storage box", by installing a dummy electrical connector box and cover in one of your cabinets or cupboards. Purchase a "deep Quad" receptacle box, and stainless steel "blank" cover at your local hardware store. Almost anyone can do this job themselves or hire a handy man to install the box. While on the road, store your wad of traveller's cheques, or hundred dollar bills in the handy box, and extract bills as you need them. This is a cheap and effective way to thwart thieves. I'd carry some spare cover screws on a long trip to replace screws that get chewed up from frequent use. Try to be clever about the placement of your hidden box, so that the inside box can't be readily examined if a nearby drawer is removed nor cupboard door is opened during a routine (usually a very brief) roadside army check of the contents of your vehicle. In any case ALWAYS declare the existance of your box to U.S. Customs officers, right away, if for some reason you find yourself in custom's secondary inspection. 5. Never park alongside a busy highway, even if it's to just eat lunch, unless there is a toll booth, store, house or business nearby. Mexico is blessed with having just about every turnout occupied by a house (even if it's a shack) or maybe a tire repair shop located where it can take advantage of the pullout. Mexican citizens are not passive when it comes to crime. If a nearby businessman observes an American tourist being hassled by rowdies, he'll round up his employees or buddies and will be to your rescue in a flash. Mexicans are extremely aware of their surroundings and customs. I'll never forget the response given to a shrill scream from a woman who opened her cupboard and came face-to-face with a mouse. The shriek aroused ten (or so) nearby knights-in-shining-armor, including myself. We had her mini-motorhome surrounded in ten seconds flat. When I tried to keep a straight face (impossible), and interpet to the thoroughly pumped-up rescuers that the lady was frightened by a pack rat, they exhaled audibly. The woman was so touched that she went to a nearby tienda and purchased some sodas as a thank you. Such a response to tourists in need is typical in Mexico and the norm. 6. Wear a hidden pouch (available at any American Tourister Luggage Kiosk at Wal Mart), with your credit cards, pin money, and tourist card tucked safely inside. These things are extremely comfortable and easy to use. I couldn't believe the peace-of-mind that I experienced after I first started wearing a hidden money pouch. I wear mine while travelling to town, and while out-on-the-town, and while driving especially in remote areas. My regular wallet (a cheap velcro/nylon vacation wallet), is stuffed with a couple hundred pesos, and an assortment of plastic cards (Price Club, Library Card, and an EXPIRED bank credit card). I carry my real driver license in my hidden pouch, and a xerox copy of my driver license in my cheap wallet. 7. Do not camp solo on a deserted beach, no matter how peaceful and serene that it may appear. The beach may be perfectly O.K. during the daylight hours, but become a haven for opportunistic robbers under the protective cloak of darkness. Try rounding up a couple of campers from around the area to increase safety in numbers. A populated Mexican fish camp makes for good security and neighbors (but you'll have to go upwind from the smell and noise). This would be an excellent time (for folks new to Mexico) to firm your quivering lip, walk over to the camp, and smile and wave. You may not know a single word of Spanish, and they may have to scurry around looking for someone who speaks a little english, but before you know it, you'll make new friends, and fishermen usually have a shotgun or two along with some (illegal) handguns hidden away from the eyes of the law. You couldn't hire better "bodyguards" than fishermen in a nearby camp. Fish camps tend to be very rustic in appearance (tin, cardboard, plastic tarps, and sometimes a spluttering generator), but the people (especially if there are women and children living there) are gracious hosts that really want to meet you, and to host you as neighbors (however brief the time may be). 8. The infamous murder of two Nevada men on a remote beach south of San Quintin, caused a sensation in Baja California, and the ramifications are not diminishing after all of these months. The two friends violated some cardinal rules: They camped solo on a deserted beach. They were sleeping out in the open, without even a tent. They told no one where they were camped. They did not meet nor talk to any of the local Mexicans. And they persisted in camping day-after-day-after day in the same spot. No Mexican camper would ever think of doing what those two unfortunate fishermen did, and they paid a horrific price. Mexico is a country with a population of a hundred million people. There is an extreme minority that will prey on anyone Mexican or American, that sets themselves up to be robbed or worse. 9. If you ever find yourself in a position where nightfall is fast approaching and you cannot make it to a "safe" haven, then pull off the highway where there is a house, or a cafe, or tire/mechanic's shop. Someone will come out to see why you've pulled off the road. Intoduce yourself, and your wife and family, again with a big friendly smile. If you clasp your hands together and place them against your cheek and tiltyour head, this is a universally understood sign that you're sleepy. A yawn is effective too. If the locals believe that they know of a better place to move to, then go with the flow. You'll soon be ensconced in a comfortable overnight parking area. Don't be surprised if later, someone knocks softly on your door and offers a plate of tacos or tamales to enjoy (Mexicans just love to do this!). Don't just bolt in the morning either; they probably will firmly refuse an offer of payment. Instead gather up a small packet of a battered but serviceable flashlight, maybe some fruit or candy, and an un-needed extra screwdriver or crescent wrench. Cheap transistor radios work well as gifts. So do batteries. Your new friends may be so enjoyable that you may decide to not continue on with your journey for another day or so (something like this personifies Mexico). 10. If by some bizarre million-to-one chance, you do indeed find yourself staring into a barrel of a "pistola", hand over your twenty dollar wallet, and watch the criminal flee (violent crime is extremely rare). For a little over twenty bucks you've purchased a story that will give you a thousand dollars worth of mileage in any cantina or bar in Mexico, or around the office water cooler when you get home. 11. Fear in Mexico? I do fear some things in Mexico. Bad sunburns are my forte, and they are agoninizingly painful. I fear being careless and breaking an arm or leg in a bad spill because I was watching something other than where I am walking. I fear becoming nonchalant in my driving habits and ripping the side out of my trailer on a tree limb. I fear some new hotel now occupies a favorite beach parking spot. But my biggest fear, one that causes me to break out into a cold sweat, is the fear that I won't be able to return to Mexico, for some reason (such as health). Oh yeah, I forgot about the icemaker and blender....
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