MEXICO IS UNITED STATES' MAIN TOURIST DESTINATION
Mexico has a market share of 16.5 percent that country,
given the economic situation being experienced by that
nation
There has been an increase of 2.1 percent in the number
of international tourists who have visited Mexico in
the January-May period, compared with the same period
last year. The Ministry of Tourism reports that Mexico
is the leading destination for U.S. tourists, registering
a market share of 16.5 percent, according to Commerce
Department figures of that country.
From 2002 to date, the number of American tourists
visiting Canada or Europe has lost market, falling 2.1
and 4.4 percentage points, respectively, while in Mexico
during the same time period, there has been an increase
of 3.2 percentage points, up from 13.3 per percent to
16.5 percent market share.
The U.S. economy continues to hit record high unemployment.
In 2010 this indicator reached 9.6 percent, while in
June this year it registered 9.2 percent.
Because the US economy is still struggling, the number
of Americans travelling to other countries has decreased
from 40 million annually in 2008 to 34.5 million in
2010.
From January to May, the number of Americans who came
to Mexico fell by 6.7 percent, compared to the same
period in 2010. However, the strategy of market diversification
by the Tourism Board of Mexico and the Ministry of Tourism
attracted in the first five months of the year encouraged
9 million international visits, an increase of 2.1 percent
compared to the same period last year.
The main objective of the Federal Government in tourism
is to diversify markets to strengthen the sector, generate
more jobs, increase economic income and become less
dependent on tourists from the United States. Therefore,
various measures have been implemented, such as immigrtation
law revisions, which has allowed countries like Brazil,
Russia and Colombia, among others, to increase their
number of visitors to Mexico.
During that time, tourists from Russia, Brazil and
China have increased to 58.1 percent, 40.9 percent and
32.8 percent respectively.
Colombia has increased the flow of tourists to Mexico
by 31.3 percent and Peru recorded an increase of 46.5
percent compared with the first five months of 2010.
Also, tourists from Canadian and Argentina increased
during the first five months of the year by 6 percent
and 16 percent respectively over the same period a year
earlier.
Mexico is not only the destination Americans prefer,
but reported levels of satisfaction during their stay
are high. According to the latest survey by the Center
for Tourism Studies to measure the level of satisfaction
of foreign visitors, 98 percent said they would return,
while 99 percent would recommend Mexico as a destination.