Mexico and the US have troubled relationship despite mutual dependence as Nieto to meet Obama

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Can Mexico’s President-elect Peña Nieto and Obama set a new tone?

As Mexico’s incoming President Enrique Peña Nieto visits newly-reelected United States President Obama today in Washington, he will try to set a new tone for the US-Mexican relationship that expands beyond drug war violence. His predecessor, Mexican President Felipe Calderón, has been hailed Mexico President Nieto.

Mexico Surpasses Targets For Tourist Arrivals And Private Investment In Tourism Projects

The Mexico Ministry of Tourism reports that private investment for the development and maintenance of tourism projects in the period January 2007 to September 2012 reached $20,129,900,000 USD, a figure that exceeds the established six-year target of 20 billion dollars. In the period from January to September alone, cumulative investment reached $1,820,340,000 USD.

This investment was directed to the development of 1,146 projects, strengthening Mexico’s tourism offering in order to attract a greater number of visitors and fulfill the commitments outlined in the National Agreement on Tourism. Of the total investment during the month of September, 75.9 percent corresponds to national capital, while the remaining investment corresponds to foreign capital.

Destinations in central Mexico captured 30.7 percent of total resources, beach destinations 35.1 percent, Mayan regions 20.9 percent, and the northern border 13.3 percent.

These private sector investments are complemented by the tourist programs and products developed during the administration of President Felipe Calderon, such as the ten Routes of Mexico, the Mundo Maya program, the 18 Gastronomic Routes and the strengthening of the Magic Towns, among others, that strengthen Mexico’s tourism offering.

The Mexico Ministry of Tourism reports that from January 2007 to September 2012, Mexico received 130.6 million international tourists, up 12.1 percent compared to the same period of the previous administration. The flow of tourists staying overnight in Mexico registered an increase of 18.3 percent reaching 75.5 million people, compared to 63.8 million registered from January 2001 to September 2006.

Foreign exchange earnings from international visitors totaled $71,027,000,000 USD, representing an increase of 22.1 percent compared to $58,163,000,000 during the previous administration.

From January 2007 to September 2012, the average expenditure of cruise passengers to Mexico reached 81.7 dollars, an increase of 30.6 percent compared to the same period the prior term. Cruise passenger spending generated revenues of $2,793,000,000 USD, 41.6 percent higher than $1,972,000,000 USD generated in revenue from January 2001 to September 2006.

During the month of September, the flow of tourists staying overnight in Mexico showed an increase of 6.2 percent compared to the same month the prior year. Foreign exchange earnings from international visitors increased from 678 million dollars during 2011 to 748 million dollars in September 2012, representing an increase of 10.3 percent.

The accumulated foreign exchange earnings from international visitors through September registered at 6.2 percent higher than the $8,818,000,000 USD achieved during 2011. Tourism with travelers staying overnight in Mexico through the month of September registered an increase of 3.1 percent compared to the period January to September during 2011.

International visitors increased their average spending by 6.8 percent, while international tourism has registered an increase of 8.0 percent. Tourism with visitors staying overnight in Mexico increased average spending through the month of September by 3.7 percent, while border tourism increased average spending by 8.1 percent.

During January to September, day visitors increased average spending by 4.7 percent, compared to the same period in 2011. According to data provided by the Integrated System for Migration Operations (SIOM), 8.1 million international visitors traveled to Mexico by air from January to September 2012, representing an increase of 6.1 percent over the same period in 2011.

From January to September, SIOM registered an increase in the number of visitors of 137 nationalities.

The Electronic Authorization System (SAE) promoted an increase in the flow of international tourists to Mexico by permitting travelers from Brazil, Russia and Ukraine to electronically obtain authorization to enter the country for tourism, transit or business without obtaining a visa. In the first nine months of the year, the flow of travelers from Brazil, Russia and Ukraine benefitted from this procedural change, registering an increase of 120.7 percent compared to the first nine months of 2011.

In September 2012, the number of air travelers from the United States increased by 3.7 percent over the same month of 2011. The accumulated number of US visitors through September registered an increase of 2.8 percent over the 4.4 million visitors received during January to September of 2011.

During the period January to October 2012, the flow of cruise passengers was 11.0 percent higher than the same period the prior year. From January to October this year, Mexico received an average of 2,726 passengers per cruise, while last year cruises averaged 2,456 passengers.

The port of Manzanillo registered an increase of 30.1 percent during the period January to October, Chiapas an increase of 27.3 percent, and Zihuatanejo an increase of 26.6 percent. According to data recorded by Airports and Auxiliary Services, the arrival of passengers on domestic flights increased 10.3 percent during January to September 2012 compared to the same period the previous year.

Similarly, international flights registered a 5.4 percent higher number of passengers to Mexico compared to January to September of 2011.

During 2011, Mexico surpassed the target of 165.8 million domestic tourists, reaching a total of 168.1 million domestic tourists. According to current trends, this goal will be surpassed again in 2012. From January to September 2012, the number of domestic tourists totaled 133.2 million, 6.0 percent higher than the same period in 2011.