One of the most important economical activities in Mexico is without a doubt Tourism. Out of the 31 States and a Federal District, 17 States have beach areas; additionally, beautiful scenarios in the mountains and colonial architecture in the center of the country, attractions to both national and foreign visitors.

México is a country rich in natural resources, good weather and wildlife that have influenced on the new tourism promotional routes like Baja California with its vineyards, and the young BajaMed cuisine, that each day is conquering new followers.

With 30 locations considered as "Patrimony of Humanity" by UNESCO, and home of one of the seven wonders of the modern world, the presidential candidates need to think about tourism right now.

San Diego Red talked with Jahdiel Vargas, who is an expert in Tourism nationwide and in the state of Baja California, he spoke to us about the challenges for the new leader of Mexico and the propositions that each of the candidates have made:

"The most clear propositions are from Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Josefina Vazquez Mota; in the case of Vázquez Mota, she has integrated a "Decalogue of Tourism for Mexico, basics and strategies", and Andrés Manuel López Obrador, through Miguel Torruco Marquez, has presented a document that contains at least 8 points where it shows the direction he would take if Andrés Manuel wins the elections. In the case of Enrique Peña Nieto and Gabriel Quadri, there isn't a formal document, that indicates what their strategy would be" said Vargas.

Tourism is a great opportunity for the country; it opens doors to foreign investors and with it, new jobs are created. During Felipe Calderon's six years as president, there was a huge setback due to the wave of violence, H1N1 flu, and the economical situation worldwide. The national, state, and local organizations, both public and private, made a great effort to bring back the golden era of tourism, but still, there's much to be done.

What should the new president and the tourism development do? According to Jahdiel Vargas, the main goal of the new government will be to "recover the places we have lost in the fields of competitiveness and inflow of foreign currency", specifically, the challenges would be the following: Reinvent the tourism model, support the private initiative to have more promotion, create more tourism products, strengthen the tourism infrastructure, and diversify the market since American and Canadian visitors are the main tourists for Mexico.

During the "Tourism Market" celebrated on March of 2012, President Felipe Calderon and Gloria Guevara, Secretary of Tourism in Mexico, gave some interesting numbers, 98% of foreign visitors returned to Mexico and recommended the mexican destinations. Besides the traditional visitors, Mexico welcomed travelers from Brazil, Russia, China, Colombia, Australia, Italy, United Kingdome, and Japan.

Even the same residents have supported the tourism movement with activities such as "coach surfing" where voluntarily they offer accommodation in their houses, and tours across their cities to visitors from the entire world.

The current and future strategies on tourism, could place Mexico as one of the top five most important countries in the touristic area, a goal that was planned two years ago, and it's not too far from reality if we open the doors of this world of opportunities,

brenda.colon@sandiegored.com

Original text : Brenda Colón

Translation : Daniel Blanco