Mexico’s tourism posted record highs in January

Mexico reaped revenues for $817 million in January out of foreign tourists, the highest amount for any such month in the history of the nation’s sector, let alone that the figure stands for a 9 percent increase compared with the same month the year before, the Tourism Department pointed out.

The first month of the year saw 852,000 foreign tourists coming to Mexico. The number of national visitors in the nation’s hotels was the same as in January 2002 with 5.4 million guests.

In beach destinations –where the largest chunk of the international tourist flow heads to- occupancy rate inched up 2.4 points to 56.2 percent. In the cities that rate hovered around 45 percent, 0.6 points below last year’s benchmark. The number of outlandish travelers grew by 11.4 percent, while earnings soared 2.3 percent with an average spending of $682 per every visitor.

Regardless of January’s positive upshots, travel agencies expect 10 to 15 percent more cancellations given the uncertainty set off by the war in Iraq.

In the face of this situation, Mexican authorities has set going a contingency plan that singles out the strengthening of the domestic market.

More than 80 percent of the 20 million foreigners who visit Mexico each year hail from the United States. Therefore, a worsening of the Iraqi conflict could put the Mexican tourist industry very much on the ropes.

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, travel to Mexico plunged by 30 percent, though the sector managed to bounce back and slash 20 points off the downturn to just 10 percent, a figure that was music to national agents’ ears if viewed in the light of what those destinations had actually gone through.