ACAPULCO, Mexico --
Despite tensions sparked by comments President Trump has made about the
character of Mexicans entering the U.S. and his demands for a wall to separate
the countries, the mood at Tianguis Turistico, the Mexico Tourism Board's
annual trade exposition held here last week, was festive: American suppliers
and Mexican officials alike were celebrating a year in which Mexico appears
poised to jump from the ninth most popular tourist destination in the world to
eighth.
At this point,
worries that Americans might be hesitant to travel to Mexico appear to be
unfounded.
"We
conducted a survey in March because we were concerned [about the impact of the
Trump administration] and that summer travel [to Mexico] was going to be
affected," said Lourdes Berho, CEO of the Mexico Tourism Board. "We
have not seen any cancellations. The only thing [the survey uncovered] was that
Volaris and Interjet were having no-shows of Mexican travelers who were afraid
that they would not be allowed back into the U.S. [if they left]. That's the
only downturn that has been reported."
Berho added: "We
all know that [the U.S. and Mexico] are sister countries. We are neighbors, and
we have so much in common. We love Americans, and we love Americans visiting
us."
Pleasant Holidays
CEO Jack Richards said that for his company, "Last year was a record year
for Mexico in terms of sales and passengers, and 2017 is experiencing
double-digit growth. Mexico is our top destination for destination wedding
travel, and we have received no cancellations thus far in 2017."
Pleasant Holidays
recently expanded its product in Mexico to include Mexico City and Guadalajara.
"We have had
only one cancellation [due to Trump]," said Zachary Rabinor, CEO of
Journey Mexico. "However
that client reinstated [their travel plans]," he said.
Mitch Toren,
chief vacation engineer at TripGuy.com, said his company was "not seeing
any meaningful reluctance for our clients to visit Mexico due to U.S. politics."
However, Beach
Bum Vacations vice president of sales and marketing Robert Whorrall said his
company had experienced a few cancellations. "Not many, but the people who
did cancel said it was due to the uncertainty of what Trump was going to do
next with future travel bans and how the citizens of Mexico would view them as
American citizens due to Trump's rhetoric."
Whorrall said he
believes, however, "that the citizens of Mexico welcome our clients with
open arms" and provide "some of the best service in the industry."
Although Mexican
government officials, including president Enrique Pena-Nieto and tourism
secretary Enrique de la Madrid, avoided any mention of U.S.-Mexico tensions in
their official addresses at the conference's inaugural assembly, one speaker
did not hold back.
Taleb Rifai,
secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO),
said in a video that preceded his remarks, "No wall will isolate a
country, and anyone who [builds one] will isolate themselves."
Moments later,
addressing Pena-Nieto directly from the stage, he said, "You are on the
south side of the [geographic] divide ... but the right side of history. ...
The future is Mexico."
The audience, the
Mexican president included, interrupted Rifai with a standing ovation.
Rifai also teased
the audience about the possibility that it will rise substantially in the
rankings of international arrivals when the UNWTO announces its official stats
this spring, suggesting the country could go from ninth to eighth place, "maybe
even seventh."
In an interview
with Travel Weekly the day after Rifai's remarks, de la Madrid said, "Let
me put it this way: I think [the rise in Mexico's ranking] is a fact, but it's
not yet official. I think they're still waiting for some data from Russia."
De la Madrid said
he won't complain if it is eighth rather than seventh place. "In just four
years, Mexico will have gone from No. 15 to No. 8, which is amazing," he
said.
The rise is also
reflected in Mexico's internal statistical reporting.
"At the
beginning of this administration, tourism was No. 22 in terms of contributing
income," he said. "Hopefully, we should be around 14 [when data is
next reported].
"At the end
of the day, what we want is more people coming, spending more. That's what we
want."
___
Arnie Weissmann
contributed to this report.