Mexico City Bureau
Mexico’s tourism industry, already the nation’s fifth-biggest source of revenue, is seen taking on more economic importance by the end of 2018 as international visits rise and new infrastructure is built, according to a cabinet official.
Tourism’s participation in Mexican gross domestic product will climb to 9.4 percent by the end President’s Enrique Pena Nieto’s administration. The industry employs about 7 million people and will be driven by more visitors from countries outside of North America and better tourism facilities.
In 2012, tourism generated $12.7 billion in foreign exchange inflows, according to a report by JPMorgan Chase & Co, a 10.5 percent increased versus 2011. Tourism trails manufacturing, oil, remittances and foreign direct investment as the nation’s biggest source of revenue.
“We want to keep growing the market share in our traditional markets such as the U.S. and Canada, while focusing on emerging markets such as Brazil, Argentina, Russia and China”, tourism minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu said.
The increase of international travelers to Mexico comes even as more than 6,200 people have been killed in drug-related violence since Pena Nieto took office Dec. 1. Eduardo Medina Mora, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., had previously said in a June 2013 interview that the government’s efforts to fight organized crime “are going to take more time and be long-term driven, because they’re based on institutional buildup.”
