The Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco Marqués, highlighted that in Mexico the tourism policy of the current administration faced the loss of positioning in the international arena, which was registered until 2018.
He highlighted that in 2019, major infrastructure works began, including the Mayan Train, as well as actions that responded to a change of regime, and with it a policy of republican austerity.
He specified that in 2022 the economic growth of 3.8% with respect to the National GDP will materialize; Foreign Direct Investment in Tourism of 4,472.4 million dollars, 260% higher than 2019, and together with public investment, it exceeds 618 billion pesos.
The Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Miguel Torruco Marqués, highlighted that the work of the Mayan Train not only responds to an individual program, but also to a national strategy of development and social justice; where the tourism policy ordered by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, plays a fundamental role in making tourism a tool of social reconciliation, through the benefits that this implies in terms of job creation, foreign exchange earnings and regional development of a fair and balanced way.
The head of the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) emphasized that, in addition, Mexican tourism was losing position in the international arena; Well, it is enough to remember that from 2012 to 2018, the tourism sector spent a budget of 54 billion pesos for Sectur, the National Tourism Promotion Fund (Fonatur) and the defunct Tourism Promotion Council of Mexico (CPTM), which yielded the following results:
· In 2018, the Tourism Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounted to 1.9 trillion pesos, to register a share of 8.5% with respect to the National GDP, which was 22.8 trillion pesos in current values for the same year.
· In international tourism, according to the ranking of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), we were in 7th position on a global scale.
· In terms of earning foreign currency, which is how the tourist potential of a nation is measured, Mexico was positioned in a distant 17th place, with the income of 22,526 million dollars.
· In turn, in 2018 we were ranked 40th in per capita spending in 2018, with a per capita spending of $545.3
· Meanwhile, Foreign Direct Investment in Tourism amounted to 1,325.6 million dollars.
With the purpose of facing this loss of positioning, he highlighted that in 2019 major infrastructure works began, as well as actions that responded to a change of regime, and with it a policy of republican austerity, which was initially criticized by the opposition, however, in the end it would give excellent results due to the magnitude of the investments without debt for tourist infrastructure.
Torruco Marqués pointed out that on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the secretary general of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid 19 a pandemic.
1. Immediately, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador convened the cabinet, and with decision and firmness ordered forceful actions to contain the economic crisis that threatened not only Mexico but the entire world, among others:
2. The non-restriction of international flights.
3. No debt and advance financial payment for the acquisition of vaccines.
4. The immediate development of biosanitary protocols, in coordination between the Secretariats of Health and Tourism, with the close collaboration of the private sector.
5. The non-cancellation of the Tianguis Turístico México de Mérida, innovating with the digital version, where the virtual presence of tour operators from 61 nations was achieved; and being the only country to do it, while the other nations canceled their tourist fairs.
The Secretary of Tourism specified that, at the end of 2020, the UNWTO published the World Ranking in arrivals of international tourists, in which, temporarily, Mexico is placed in third position, only below France and Italy. While, in 2021, our country rose on the global scale of international tourism to second position, only below France.
In addition, the international organization reveals compelling data on the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic: In terms of tourism, the world fell 72.2%, the 20 powers that compete with our country, 76.5%, and Mexico only 46.1%, which is why it was one of the first nations to recover.
He indicated that this also allowed us to capture a segment of international tourism with greater spending power that was not impacted with all the resources of previous administrations.
For this reason, the Secretary General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, visited President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whom he recognized as the president who best implemented tourism policies worldwide.
The head of Sectur stressed that, in 2022, Mexico manages to position itself in 9th place internationally in foreign currency earnings, thanks to the arrival of a market that was surprised by the splendid tourism developments, warmth in service, bio-sanitary protocols of excellence , a gastronomy listed as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, and the surprising craftsmanship.
“This new market niche has become repetitive, since the needs and expectations of an increasingly demanding and informed consumer are met, in addition to the profile of the post-pandemic tourist, now looking for more open, green places, and in contact with the local population,” he declared.
He pointed out that meanwhile, the Government of Mexico continued with the major works: Mayan Train, Interoceanic Train, Dos Bocas refinery, dams, highways, airports and a series of attractive anchors in the different entities of the country, to innovate with new products with the purpose of stopping the loss of positioning in the international arena registered until the end of 2018.
Torruco Marqués stated that, in 2022, the results and dreams of a true statesman materialize with an economic growth of 3.8% with respect to the National GDP; in Foreign Direct Investment in Tourism of 4 thousand 472.4 million dollars, this is 260 % higher than 2019, placing us in sixth position worldwide in large-scale projects, only below: the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
Likewise, the population employed in Mexico's tourism sector amounted to 4 million 604 thousand people employed in the fourth quarter of 2022; In this way, tourism employment represented 8.8% of national employment.
Meanwhile, in 2022 the Tourism Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 2.4 trillion pesos, which represented 8.5% of the national total; and from 2019 to the third quarter of 2023, the amount of investment in tourism infrastructure, between public and private, was 618 billion pesos.
The Secretary of Tourism also highlighted the increase in hotel occupancy reported so far this year, since from January to October 2023 it reached 59.3%, this is an increase of 3.4 percentage points compared to the same period in 2022, a figure even more relevant when considering that in the current administration around 87 thousand new hotel rooms have been built, and it continues to increase, thanks to the confidence that investors have in our country, consolidating Mexico as the seventh world power in hotel infrastructure .
In turn, tourism employment amounted to 4 million 764 thousand people employed in the third quarter of 2023, which represents a growth of 4.7% compared to the same period in 2022, and exceeds the historical recorded number of employed personnel by 6.2%. in the tourism sector in the first quarter of 2020, the period prior to the pandemic.
With all of the above and given the trends, it is expected that at the end of 2023, 40 million 289 thousand international tourists will arrive in Mexico, the foreign currency income from international visitors will be 30 thousand 899 million dollars, which will represent an increase of 25.7% regarding what was captured in 2019; The average expense for international tourism by air is estimated at 1,163 dollars, this is 16.1% compared to the year before the pandemic; and tourism consumption exceeds 176 billion dollars, meaning 0.4% more than what was registered in 2019.
“After three decades, today Mexico has a strong and stable peso, which shows that it is a myth that devaluing the currency made us more competitive. This is how the sector responds with the presidential mandate to make tourism a tool of social reconciliation,” concluded Torruco Marqués.
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