Mexico Tourism Board Reports Increases in Visitors, Revenue
May 04, 2011 4:12 PM
The Mexico Tourism Board released results of first-quarter 2011 tourism activity in Mexico. Across a raft of measures from tour operators, airlines, resorts, cruise lines and attractions, the first three months of 2011 has proven to be one of prosperity and growth in both volume and revenue. The Ministry of Tourism recently reported that during the Easter holiday period, hotel occupancy in the inner cities reported a 4.2 percent increase compared to last year. Locations such as Merida, Leon and Queretaro all reported significant increases of over 8 percent across the board. Additionally, hotel occupancy was up across many tourist destinations including Guanajuato (6.2 percent), Villahermosa (9.2 percent), and Aguascalientes (75.1 percent).
The 90 percent occupancy rates for Easter Week based on first-quarter bookings have set many resorts up for a strong 2011 for both minor and major resort operators. It is also worth noting that several major hotel chains are investing in Mexico and are set to open new properties in the near future. Just this past week, the W Hotel Chain announced plans to open properties in Mexico City and Riviera Maya by 2014, and Hilton Worldwide signed a franchise development deal with GS Consorcio Hotelero S.A. de C.V. for the DoubleTree by Hilton Queretaro. This four-story, new-build property, which is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2011, is anticipated to be the first DoubleTree by Hilton hotel to open in Mexico, followed by additional locations opening later this year in Merida and Mexico City.
Currently, Mexico is the second-most-visited country for cruise travelers. In February 2011, the average expenditure of cruise travelers to Mexico was $90.70, an increase of 4.2 percent in comparison to the same month in 2010, and an increase of 12.4 percent compared to February 2009. Expedia, the largest online travel agency in the world, has revealed its plans to expand its revenue manager ranks in Mexico in 2011, after analyzing new booking data on Mexico. Parsing data from more than 90 Expedia and Hotels.com websites around the world, Expedia said bookings to Mexico have risen 25 percent over the last year, with the majority of the demand coming from the U.K., Canada and the U.S. According to Expedia, the number of Mexico hotels participating in Expedia and Hotels.com sites climbed 30 percent in the last 12 months. Out of these, more than 120 have been listed on Expedia’s exclusive list called “Select.”
Several airlines, including Virgin America, recently launched nonstop flights from San Francisco International to Cabo San Lucas back in December 2011. Many airlines are considering increasing their routes to Mexico, including American Airlines and Continental.
Mexico continues to be the number one destination for Americans. As the U.S. Department of State has noted, “millions of U.S. citizens travel safely to Mexico each year,” including “at least 1 million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico”. The current travel advisory in place is an extension of the advisory that was issued in late 2010. Authorities in Mexico are working closely with the destinations pointed out by the travel advisory to ensure that there is necessary infrastructure in place to address any safety concerns. Last year, more than 22 million foreigners visited Mexico.
Most of Mexico’s tourism destinations are located many hundreds of miles away from the Mexico/U.S. border where the majority of the reported incidences have occurred. The country asks all visitors to exercise the same safety precautions they would use when visiting any tourism destinations within or outside their own country. At this time, Mazatlan and Acapulco are currently undergoing a period of transformation as infrastructure modernization, security and business development continue to be a key focus. “We recently found that of our foreign tourists that visit Mexico in 2010, 98 percent of those travelers often return and recommend Mexico as a destination of choice,” said Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, chief operating officer of the Mexico Tourism Board. “We encourage anyone considering a vacation in Mexico to speak to any of the millions of visitors who chose to vacation at our destinations last year, and are planning on visiting again next year.” For more information, visit www.visitmexico.com