THE NEWS
The Tourism Secretariat (Sectur) issued a press released on Sunday where it reported on its activities over the past year — the first of the Enrique Peña Nieto administration — as well as the challenges that remain for 2014.
According to the press release, Mexico’s tourism sector repositioned itself in 2013 to become an authentic motor of social and economic development.
The tourism figures released by Sectur so far this year have been positive, with the number of international tourists on the rise and hotel occupancy rates up.
Mexico is also raising its profile internationally, the press release added, with the country’s designation as the host of the 2014 World Tourism Day and as partner country for the 2014 International Tourism Fair in Berlin (ITB). Mexico was also named as one of the 10 countries that international tourists should visit in 2014 by the prestigious travel publication Lonely Planet.
Nevertheless, challenges remain. Francisco Madrid, director of the Anáhuac University School of Tourism, cited a study conducted by the Anáhuac Center for Tourism Research which indicated that the tax reform approved earlier this year — which raised the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Mexico’s border states by 5 percentage points, bringing it in line with the rest of the country — could negatively affect the private sector, including the tourism industry.
Madrid added that Tropical Storm Manuel and Hurricane Ingrid, which hit both costs of Mexico in September, also had a negative effect on the tourism industry, especially in Acapulco.
No comments:
Post a Comment