Mexico wants Medical Tourism to be part of new NAFTA

Tourism Secretary Enrique de la Madrid Cordero announced that Mexico will seek to include medical tourism in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The federal official commented that he will meet with the Secretary of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villareal, to analyze if it is feasible to incorporate this branch of tourism in the agreement, since it would be of great interest for the three countries. In an interview, after opening the public consultation forum called "Tourism is Well-Being," he said that health is one of the largest economic sectors in the United States and its costs grow significantly each year, so a collaboration is possible. The official clarified that although there is still nothing defined, the issue has to be worked together with the Secretary of Economy, who is in charge of carrying out the renegotiation of NAFTA. De la Madrid Cordero also stressed that within the framework of the renegotiations of this agreement, the free transit of tourists between Mexico, Canada and the United States must be preserved. "Something that matters a lot to tourism is to maintain a free flow of tourists between one country and another, it is important to facilitate the visa and arrivals," he added. In that sense, he said that work is being carried out on the establishment of kiosks at the airports of Mexico City, Cancun and Los Cabos, to automatically revise visas, in order to facilitate the entry of tourists to the country, which could be ready at the end of the year.