Mexico Seeks to Put Tourism Ahead of Oil as Top Income Source
The Mexican government is laying the grounds to make local tourism knock down the oil industry a decade from now from the number-one spot among the nation´s hard currency earners, Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo owned up this week.
In recent days, Mr. Elizondo trumpeted new development plans for the area of Mar de Cortes and similar investment possibilities for Loreto, Los Cabos, Huatulco and other circuits along the Pacific Coast.
The official announcement came out on the heels of a report issued by Mexico´s Tourism Department, revealing that the private sector ponied up nearly $2.3 billion into the national travel industry last year, up a striking 38.5 percent from 2003.
Three quarters of that amount ($1.7 billion) were chipped in by national investors, while the remainder of the money ($565 million) was contributed by foreign developers, especially from the U.S.
The participation of foreign investors in the local leisure industry was up 61.9 percent from 2003, tallying up $349.1 million.
Mr. Elizondo made those remarks from the exclusive Century City Hotel, home to the American Lodging Investors Summit last week.
In a brief statement to the press, the Tourism Secretary indicated the Mexican government is committed to giving back the first three islands or marinas in the Sea of Cortes later this year.
The trio is part of the dozen islands penciled in as top moneymakers and job creators for Mexico´s travel industry that the federal government pledged to hand over by 2006.
The all-embracing plan includes different projects for the states of Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Nayarit and Jalisco.
In Sonora´s Puerto Peñasco alone, the cash flow has already totaled $600 million poured into tourist infrastructure and real estate properties.
Mr. Elizondo underscored Mexico´s stance as the world´s eighth most sought-after travel destination and its recent inclusion on the list of the top-ten hard currency makers on the planet.
”That´s why we need not only to keep on growing, but also to strengthen out tourist offers,” he said.
