U.S. tourism to Mexico will continue to increase despite Trump: De la Madrid

There is no reason for U.S. tourism to Mexico to be affected by the election of Donald Trump as president, Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism said Monday Nov. 21.

Enrique de la Madrid Cordero said American visitor numbers have been growing steadily at an annual rate of 12% and he saw no reason for that changing.

He also said that during two years of election campaigning in the U.S., during which there was “aggressive” discourse against Mexico, there was growth in U.S. tourism rather than otherwise. “There is no reason to anticipate there will be a negative effect now.”

De la Madrid credited two years’ worth of tourism promotion campaigns in the U.S. for the growth in visits.

And with a new bilateral aviation accord in place to improve air connectivity between the two countries along with the peso’s decline in value against the dollar, tourism numbers should continue to be strong.

The exchange rate should also have an effect on domestic tourism, encouraging Mexicans to travel within their own country rather than visiting the U.S., the Tourism Secretary said.

One important market within the U.S. is that country’s Hispanic population, he observed, and a campaign is being planned to promote Mexico to it.

As of Friday many of those Hispanic residents now have a new option to travel south. Interjet launched its new twice-daily flights between Mexico City and Chicago, serving among others the Mexican population in the Midwest.

In welcoming the new service, Mexico’s consul-general in Chicago said that population numbers more than 3 million.

Source: mexiconewsdaily.com