Mexican tourism industry continues to rely on American tourist arrivals despite the rhetoric and promises of the US President-elect Donald Trump, according to Secretary of Tourism Enrique de la Madrid.
The official said that about 55 per cent of Mexico’s international tourism comes from their northern neighbor, which is expected to grow 14 percent this year.
De la Madrid stressed that despite Trump's anti-Mexican rhetoric, the number of US visitors continues to grow.
"This year alone, the number of Americans coming to Mexico by air has grown at the rate of 14 percent, almost three times more than overall international tourist arrivals," he explained.
He noted that the peso's depreciation against the dollar continues to make Mexico an attractive destination and is boosting Mexican tourism industry.
The tourism head stated that where one should see a falloff is in the number of Mexican tourists going abroad because of the rise in the value of the dollar.
Mexican tourism officials expect this year’s revenues to reach $19 billion. The Mexican government ruled out any negative effect on tourism due to Donald Trump’s White House win.
"So far, not only have we not seen a decrease, but the number of visitors to our country continues to grow in record numbers, at rates close to 8.5% up to September,” said Enrique de la Madrid Cordero.
"The numbers are going well. I think we should be closing this year with about 35 million foreign visitors and revenues of about 19 billion dollars," he reported at a press conference.
The exchange rate makes the country even more attractive to Americans because since the Republican victory the currency has fallen to over 20 units per dollar.
The Secretary emphasized that it is "a good opportunity to boost domestic tourism" and intensify the strategy to diversify the tourist sites.
