The lack of programs to promote tourism in Mexico and levels of insecurity faced by many states have caused negatively impacted tourism in the country so far this year, industry experts agreed.
Jorge Hernández, president of the Mexican Federation of Tourist Associations ( Fematur ), said that insecurity worried entities that report double-digit falls in tourism.
With data obtained by the Fematur, insecurity and sargassum in April generated a 6% drop in hotel occupancy in Cancun and the Riviera Maya, the main tourist destinations in the country.
According to data of the “Survey of International Travelers and the Tourism Survey of Hospitalization” of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), in March of 2019, the total arrival of tourists in Mexico was 9.041 million people , which represented a fall of 2.9% compared to the same period last year.
During this month, visitor spending in dollars reached the amount of $687.6 million dollars, 17% less compared to the third month of last year.
Hernandez, who is also president of the Mexican Association of Travel Agencies (AMAV), said that in tourist cities such as Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Los Cabos, tourism has remained strong.
He stressed that in entities such as Michoacán, Guerrero, Chiapas and the region of the Mexican southeast, are just some of the entities that have reported figures to the downside.
