Published on : Thursday, May 31, 2018
“We are very proud of having reached, for the first time in our history, the sixth-most-visited country in the world,” said Mexico Tourism Secretary Enrique de la Madrid during a Mark Travel Corporation webinar.
The visitor numbers for Mexico are growing at a dizzying rate. From 2013 through 2017, the nation saw a 62 percent increase in visitor traffic, which is the fastest growth rate for any large global destination. Infrastructure is also expanding keeping pace with visitor arrivals, including welcoming 15,000 to 20,000 new hotel rooms every year.
“Just last semester, 7,000 new rooms were inaugurated [in Mexico],” said de la Madrid.
He also said that the CEOs of Marriott and Hilton hotels have committed to adding 43 new properties in Mexico in the next two to three years.
Connectivity to the nation is also developing. In 2017, some 18.6 million international visitors arrived by air.
For 2018 alone, Mexico has already welcomed 4,600 new flights, including new service from Chicago to Mazatlan, Denver to Cozumel, Los Angeles to Acapulco and Seattle to Mexico City.
However, Mexico’s transformation into global tourism star has not come without its challenges, including an ongoing concern over visitor safety.
But Mexico’s tourism industry has promised to take stringent actions on people and organizations spreading mis-information about the country.
“[Mexico] is a fantastic destination and [one] that has been important to our company for over 30 years,” said host Ray Snisky, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer of The Mark Travel Corporation, before introducing Secretary de la Madrid. “It is the passion, warmth and graciousness of the people of Mexico that really makes that destination unique.”
“There’s a lot of misinformation [about Mexico] right now.” Snisky said.