Mexico´s Adventure Tourism, Revenues Keep on the Rise

Adventure tourism finished 2004 with as many as $5 million worth of profits for a number of Mexican communities, despite its being a fledgling market with a long way to go ahead of it.

Regardless of the poor publicity adventure tourism has traditionally had in Mexico, the segment is marching right on track and promises to be a leisure industry heavyweight in the near future.

Milko Rivera, chief of the Sport and Nautical Tourism Division at the nation´s Tourism Department, believes those $5 million garnered by local communities stemmed mostly from the practice of triathlon and adventure tourism.

All in all, the growth of Mexico´s tourism industry and export diversification will help the country offset slowing demand by the U.S., Mexican Finance Minister Francisco Gil Diaz said.

``Mexico´s tourism industry is booming,´´ Mr. Diaz said in an interview in Washington during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings. ``The decline in the dollar has made North America cheaper compared with other regions and as a result we are seeing a high influx of visitors to our country.´´

The U.S. dollar declined about 31 percent against the euro in the past three years. It´s up 4.9 percent against the European currency this year.

Mr. Diaz also said the country´s economy will grow in 2005 at a faster pace than the 3.7 percent rate forecast by the IMF. Mexico´s economy expanded 4.4 percent in 2004, the fastest rate since 2000. ``We are expecting at least four percent,´´ he said.