Formula I returns to Mexico.
Cheering fossil fuel-burning cars tearing around a racetrack has little in common with the quiet observation of a monarch butterfly, but both represent the diversity of Mexican tourism.
And the former will also represent a huge increase in tourism revenues next year when the Formula I race returns after a 23-year absence. The Formula I World Cup Championship will be run in Mexico for five years, bringing with it US $189 million a year and 18,000 new jobs, according to Tourism Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu.
The race will come at an annual cost of $72 million to be borne in a public-private partnership between the federal government, which will put up $42 million, and the race organizer.
More than 100,000 spectators are expected to attend each race at the three-day event, to be held at an upgraded Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome in Mexico City.
Ruiz Massieu said Formula I racing has fans in 180 countries and draws 520 million television viewers, which makes it a strategic investment for Mexico. “The event will have benefits for the country and the city, and represents an incredible projection platform for Mexico.
“It will allow us to reach not only fans of Formula I but put us on a select list of people with high purchasing power that we want to attract.”
It is expected that the race will bring 100,000 tourists, representing a value of $45 million to the hotel industry in the Mexico City area. The tourism chief said parallel strategies would be developed to encourage the visitors to see other parts of the country.
Dates of the event will be announced next month, but it is expected to run towards the end of next year.
Mexican can boast two drivers at the Formula I level, Sergio Pérez of Force India and Esteban Gutiérrez of Sauber, a factor that has boosted interest within Mexico.
“The return of FI to our country is a sign that the Mexican state can achieve anything,” said Pérez. “It is a great opportunity to show the world what Mexico is and what we are capable of achieving.”
Mexico first hosted Formula I racing in 1963, and it ran for the next seven years. It came back from 1986 until 1992.
No comments:
Post a Comment