Mexico City.
Monday, May 11,
2009.
Tourism is one of
the main drivers of
the Mexican economy.
The Mexican tourism
ministry announced a
series of measures,
to be implemented by
the Mexican federal
government, to
reboot Mexico’s
tourism sector,
protect it's
industry and jobs,
and maintain air
traffic to the
different
destinations of the
country.
“We designed an
action plan for
investment with
three main goals:
The first one is to
protect
manufacturing and
employment; the
second one is to
maintain air traffic
between tourist
spots, and the third
one concerns the
reestablishment of
Mexico as a main
tourist
destination,” said
Rodolfo Elizondo,
Minister of Tourism.
The measures include
the development of a
temporary support
program for jobs
within the tourism
industry; mechanisms
to maintain air
traffic required for
the tourism
destinations;
minimal decrease in
the number and
frequencies of
flights to those
cities, and the
creation of a fund
of 1.2 billion pesos
to reposition Mexico
on the international
tourism scene. These
measures will be
achieved by means of
a national and
international
promotion campaign
as well as public
relations efforts.
Moreover, Mexico’s
Health Minister José
Ángel Córdova said
that no case of the
swine flu has been
confirmed in the
main sun
destinations of the
country such as
Puerto Vallarta,
Cozumel, Los Cabos,
Mazatlán and
Zihuatanejo. Those
places remain secure
for national and
international
travellers.
International Health
organizations
congratulate and
encourage the
initiatives of the
Mexican federal
government. Just
recently, UNWTO
recognized the
efforts of the
Mexico Government
for having
confronted “the
appearance of the
A(H1N1) virus in a
serious and
responsible manner,"
and declared that
Mexico’s response
could be considered
as a benchmark.
Moreover, UNWTO
underlines that
until now, the WHO
is against sealing
the borders and
restrictions on
travel. Past
experiences have
shown that such
measures could not
stop the spreading
of a virus. In
addition, such
measures have
enormous impacts on
the local economy.
At the press
conference, the
Minister of Tourism
added that the
campaign will be
coordinated by the
Ministry of Tourism
in accordance with
the Mexican
government,
PROMEXICO
(organization
mandated to
consolidate the
participation of
Mexico in the
international
economy), and the
Mexico Tourism Board
(MTB).
Rodolfo Elizondo
also stated that “We
will work in three
main fronts:
Politics,
communication and
image, and
promotion. This will
allow us to properly
attend to our main
audiences, namely
foreign government,
international
organizations,
investors and
commercial partners
from all sectors,
tour operators,
hotels, travel
agencies and
airlines, as well as
communication media
and consumers.”
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