Mexico’s Tourism Flexes its Muscles

The cash surplus of Mexico’s travel industry scored a big increase in the first eight months of the ongoing year, up a whopping 20.8 percent from the same span of time in 2003.

During that period, the country reaped over $2.8 billion worth of revenues, thanks in part to a 13.3 percent climb in tourist benefits that totaled more than $7.3 billion.

Until August this year, as many as 13.6 million foreign tourists had visited Mexico, a double-digits spike compared to the first eight months of last year.

In the same breath, gains churned out by the leisure industry were way above $3 billion in 2003, an amount of cash that plays a major role in Mexico City’s economy, said Carlos McKinley, director-general of the Institute of Tourism Promotion.

The Aztec nation’s capital accommodates some 10 million sunbathers every year in its more than 47,000 hotel rooms. Roughly 40 percent of those visitors are business travelers, Mr. McKinley pointed out.