Mexico looking to expand cruise tourism
Mexican tourism officials met with cruise line representatives for the first time to promote new routes and increase tourism in Pacific Mexican states and the Gulf of Mexico.
“For the first time we are in a dialogue to build public policy on cruise ships,” said Alfredo Moreno, undersecretary of tourism operation of the Mexican Secretariat of Tourism.
Secretaries of Tourism of Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Colima, Yucatan, Quintana Roo and Campeche, and the secretaries of Chiapas and Guerrero met with representatives from major cruise lines including Royal Caribbean International, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America and Norwegian Cruise Line.
Last year the Mexican ports had five million cruise passengers and this year expect to receive nearly six million, according to projections by the Ministry of Tourism.
Moreno noted that Mexico is investing nearly US$40 million in all cruise ship destinations, with the idea to increase that amount by 2011 with a focus even more timely in these areas.
"We seek to improve the flow of cruising and spending of visitors and for our part theming conditions of our ports and differences between destinations," said Francisco de la Vega Aragón, secretary of Tourism of Sinaloa, noting that the port of Mazatlan receives 200 cruises a year and a half million cruise passengers.
By David Wilkening
David
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