Not to Be Missed

What is the significance of the tourism industry for Mexico?

The strategic vision of President Enrique Peña Nieto has recognized tourism as an important tool for development, prosperity, and welfare for Mexico. It represents 8.7% of our GDP, consistently registers a surplus in the balance of payments, employs directly more than three million people, is the biggest employer of young people, the second largest employer of women, and is the fourth source of revenue in foreign exchange. Additionally, tourism helps promote our country for what it really is: modern, vibrant, and in constant transformation.

What steps has the government taken to boost tourism since 2012?

Tourism in Mexico is reinvigorating itself. Since the beginning of this administration, we have undertaken a restructuring of a sector that was experiencing contraction. The National Tourism Policy established four guidelines that set its course towards planning and sectorial transformation, innovation and competitiveness, development and promotion, as well as sustainability and social benefit. Tourism also began to work from a cross-sectional perspective, resulting in the establishment of the Tourist Cabinet, an unprecedented tool that provides an important coordination forum for tourism development in Mexico. In addition, for the first time in history, tourism has been included as one of the strategic sectors of the National Infrastructure Plan. The results for 2014 reflect various actions carried out by Mexico’s government through the Ministry of Tourism. With regard to travel facilitation schemes, we have extended the franchise allowed for passengers entering by land. Likewise, we have improved our visa policy by suppressing the requirement for Latin American countries such as Peru, Colombia, Chile and Brazil. This has directly resulted in an increased inflow of tourists. Visitors from Peru have increased by 25% and those from Chile by 15.8%. We also launched the second phase of the Live it to Believe it campaign in the US, Spain, and the UK as well as the #MiMéxico campaign, designed especially for the Hispanic audience resident in the US. Thanks to this, more than 7.1 million American tourists visited Mexico last year, marking an increase of 10.6%, and consolidating Mexico as the most visited destination for tourists from the US.

What strategies are you putting into place to foster domestic tourism?

An important part of tourism comes from the domestic segment. With that in mind, President Peña Nieto has instructed us to create a public policy of national outreach that will allow all Mexicans to travel and discover their own nation. The strategy aims to provide facilities for children, the elderly, the disabled, low-income families, youngsters, and amateur athletes to travel in and get to know Mexico. This is the commitment of the Mexican government; to strengthen tourism by promoting quality, diversification of service. and infrastructural development to foster economic growth that will lead to social benefits, prosperity, and welfare. At the Ministry of Tourism, we will work to help the vision of President Enrique Peña Nieto of a prosperous, inclusive Mexico with greater opportunities that enable greater progress.