Mexico City.- The strength of the peso against the dollar, promotion and insecurity in the country have reduced the competitiveness of foreign tourism in Mexico, especially from the United States, whose travelers have mainly chosen to travel to the Caribbean.
According to data from the Anahuac Tourism Research and Competitiveness Center (Chicotour), the arrival of foreign tourists has accelerated between 2021 and 2022 and so far this year, the case of American travelers alone has decreased by 14 percent.
Between March and May alone, Mexico received nearly 430,000 fewer U.S. tourists than during the same period last year.
Francisco Madrid, director of Cicotur, explained that the reasons ranged from budget cuts to promotion, the strength of the exchange rate and issues such as insecurity in the country.
“The exchange rate has become too expensive, competition has returned to normalcy, lack of promotion and the issue of insecurity,” explained the expert on the primary reasons for the arrival of travelers to the country.
On the balance of the peso and the dollar, Bralio Arzuca, president of the National Tourist Business Council (CNET), pointed out that the financial plans of tourism companies indicate an exchange rate of about 20 pesos. The fall in the dollar has already hit the plans.
“The strength of the peso has made tourism products more expensive in our country. The budget of most tourism companies was prepared in 20 pesos, today we are at 16, 17 perra broke, and that difference budget is very big,” he warned.
Regarding insecurity, levels continue to be high and a serious issue, according to traders’ advice.
“The violent events in much of Mexican territory are ultimately damaging the image and certainly the number of tourists traveling and the amount in dollars.
“I stress, promotion and insecurity are among the most important issues, but when we add these reasons like increased competition and lack of promotion, it becomes exponential,” he said.
Francisco Madrid explained that in the case of tourism promotion, places like Las Vegas or the Dominican Republic, with a lower hotel offer than in Mexico, exceed the advertising budgets allocated here.
For example, in Mexico, 30 million pesos are allocated by the central government for promotion, which includes the payment of salaries. For Las Vegas, which has about one-fifth of the rooms in Mexico, the general advertising budget is $176 million.
“Of course the lack of promotion will start to suffer,” Madrid warned.
Both spokesmen agreed that while the US economy is still mired in inflationary issues and economic uncertainty, travelers continue to look for better alternatives outside the country, particularly to the Caribbean.
“Americans are traveling more than ever. We’re already seeing more tourists than in the best times before the pandemic, and the question is where are they going,” the expert questioned.
