PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — While Mexico tourism officials are pleased that the February U.S. travel advisory was more specific in pinpointing areas of concern, “this subject remains a work in progress,” according to Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, COO of the Mexico Tourism Board.
“We are not yet 100% satisfied, but we have come a long way since the April 2011 alert, which was very general in its language,” Lopez-Negrete said.
Mexico and U.S. State Department officials “have established a good rapport and a good working relationship,” he said. “The recent warning did not blanket all of Mexico as dangerous. Instead, it was very clear and concise about where travelers should go and not go.”
Lopez-Negrete advocated the use of maps to accompany the warnings so that travelers can see exactly which areas of certain states are off-limits.
“However, Texas is a different ball game,” he said. “Texas is the only state in the U.S. that issues its own travel warning. You don’t mess with Texas.”
While Lopez-Negrete said he respected Texas’ right to inform and protect its citizens, he said the state’s officials must correctly and specifically inform residents in regard to safety and security concerns in Mexico.
Despite Texas’ recent blanket advi
sory targeted specifically at spring breakers, many students appeared not to heed the warning.
Although final numbers are not yet in, Lopez-Negrete said that occupancy figures in Mexico’s resort areas for the spring break period “are high, well over 2011.”
In an address at the close of the annual Tianguis Turistico travel industry trade show this week, hosted jointly by Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit, Lopez-Negrete reported “a highly successful conference with an attendance of 7,000 delegates, up from 4,000 a year ago, including representatives of 568 buyer companies and business-to-business appointments numbering well over 22,000.”
This year marked the first time in 36 years that the event moved from Acapulco to another site in an effort to showcase other destinations, according to the tourist board.
Tianguis 2013 will be held in Puebla, followed by Cancun in 2014.
Violence in Acapulco also was a factor, stemming from increased drug cartel activity in the area, but Lopez-Negrete stressed that “we are not abandoning Acapulco.”
A number of security measures have been enacted by the federal government as well as the state of Sinaloa to help reduce crime activity.
In addition, funds are more available to assist hotel owners who want to renovate and upgrade their properties.
Acapulco also is the focus of a series of testimonial ads that will appear on TV in April from visitors and expats who praise Acapulco as a safe destination.
The Mexico Tourism Board also plans to launch a series of ads highlighting regions, such as Campeche, “that are off the radar screen for most visitors,” Lopez-Negrete said.
“We don’t believe in generic advertising,” he said. “Destination-specific ads will help our visitors know lesser-known areas of our country.”
Follow Gay Nagle Myers on Twitter @gnmtravelweekly.