Guadalajara -
Two months ago secretary of tourism Claudia Ruiz Massieu warned that Mexico's rankings as a travel destination would likely fall a place or two in the soon to be released 2012 numbers. This week they did.
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) gathers and reports visitor statistics for member nations annually.
The success of a nation's tourist economy is measured by two components. WTO records both the number of passenger arrivals, and the income generated by such. In 2011 Mexico was in 10th place with respect to the former, reporting 23.4 million visitors (Mexico's Tourism Dept. expects drop in 2012 rankings). But last year it fell from 10th to 13th place in tourist arrivals, receiving 23.1 million foreign visitors.
In a WTO press release issued yesterday in Madrid, Mexico fell to 24th place in 2012 measured by gross travel receipts. The country earned $12.7 billion dollars from tourism last year, WTO said. In 2010 and 2011 Mexico was in 23rd place measured by the influx of tourist dollars. As recently as 2007 it was in 14th place. South Korea, the Netherlands and Greece all ranked ahead of Mexico in WTO's 2012 revenue report.
Topping the 2012 chart by gross tourism revenues earned were the United States, Spain and France.
WTO reported international tourism grew 4% last year, reaching a high water mark of $1.075 trillion.
"It is encouraging to see that the growth in international tourist arrivals was equaled by a comparable increase in spending in spite of continued economic challenges," said WTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. "Considering that tourism is a key export for many economies around the world, this result is good news as it provides foreign reserves to destinations, and contributes to job creation in tourism as well as in related economic sectors."
In Mexico federal tourism officials had no immediate comment on the economic data, but in March secretary Ruiz attributed the projected decline in part to travelers' security concerns.
June 6 - Mexican tourism posts strong four month recovery
Apr. 9 - Yucatán tourism remained flat in first quarter of 2013
Mar. 7 - U.S. security consultant Stratfor urges tourist caution in Mexico
Feb. 9 - U.S. travelers: a "generalized terror" of northern Mexico
Jan. 22 - Puerto Vallarta: tensions linger after brazen narco attack
© MGRR 2013. All rights reserved. This article may be cited or briefly quoted with proper attribution or a hyperlink, but not reproduced without permission.
There is one claring difference with regard to Mexico's tourism income compared to other nations. Mexico is the capital of the cruise ship industry. Cozumel alone receives over three million passengers a year. But, the money they spend does not go to Mexican business. For the most part, it stays in the confines of the cruise ship piers and local shops controlled by the cruise ship line. Even locally owned shops must pay them a commission. This money should be subtracted from the total. Miami is the biggest cruise ship DEPARTURE port. Big difference.
ReplyDelete