Holiday and Disney a winning combo

I’m a Christmas person. I got it from my mother. My daughter is a Christmas person. She got it from me. It’s no wonder that we can’t wait until Disneyland launches its holiday season Nov. 12 and continues through Jan. 2.

Disneyland Resort is transformed into a winter wonderland for the holidays, which turns into magic for the Wawer family. According to Disney, besides visits from Santa and holiday treats, here are some of the things on the agenda:

• Take a tour of the world’s holiday traditions as children celebrate with song on “It’s a Small World” holiday.
• Gaze on majestic Sleeping Beauty Castle with snow-capped turrets, icicles and shimmering holiday lights.
• Experience “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade, a charming procession of Yuletide vignettes starring beloved Disney Characters.
• A “Believe in Holiday Magic” fireworks spectacular that builds to a crescendo of falling snow.
• Meet real reindeer and participate in holiday fun at Santa’s Reindeer Roundup in Frontierland.
• Witness the snow-covered Haunted Mansion Holiday, featuring Sandy Claws’ coffin sleight atop the roof — and see what Jack Skellington and pals from Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” have done inside.
• See Main Street light up in holiday style as snow falls.
• Ice skate with family and friends.

For more information, go to www.disneyland.com.

They keep coming

In spite of travel warnings issued by the U.S. State Department, the number of Americans arriving as tourists continues to increase, according to the Mexican Immigration Service. The increase is small, less than 2 percent during the past five years, but Americans account for 61 percent of all foreigners entering Mexico, followed by Canada (18 percent) and Europe (14 percent). Biggest increase came from Brazil, followed by other South American countries, but even Brazil accounted for only 1.1 percent of all tourists enterining Mexico.

The U.S. travel warnings relate to violence occurring as authorities in Mexico attempt to suppress organized crime. “The Mexican Government has made considerable effort to protect foreign citizens,” the warning reads. “Nonetheless, crime and violence remain serious problems.”

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member f the Society of American Travel Writers

Fatal roads

One American dies every 36 hours in a foreign highway accident, and 40 percent of these expire in Mexico, according to statistics published recently by USA Today. That high percentage is because more Americans visit Mexico than any other country, the newspaper reported. The figures were gathered by Make Roads Safe, a non-profit group working with The United Nations. Thailand and the Dominican Republic came in second and third after Mexico in regard to highway fatalities.

Oddly, highway accidents are not a major concern for tourists visiting Mexico. Most worry about the highly publicized gun battles fought daily between narcotics smugglers fighting either each other or Mexican law enforcement agencies. No American tourists have been killed, or even injured, in these clashes.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Bid to boost ‘Entrance Fee’

Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara has confirmed that she plans to ask Congress to raise the fee for non-immigration permits (tourist cards or visas) to $30. Currently it is $20. She also wants all funds collected to be used for promoting travel to Mexico. Currently the money is divided with the Immigration Service. A major complaint among arriving air passengers is the long wait (up to an hour in some cases) before an immigration inspector becomes available. The Immigration Service maintains that it needs its budget increased so that it can hire more people. Gloria Guevara has said higher fees would pay for additional promotion in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Currently, more than eight out of 10 foreign tourists come from the United States and Canada.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Mexico City snarls

In terms of arrivals by air, Mexico City ranks as the country’s top destination. City officials would like passengers to stay awhile rather than simply change planes. One reason that they do not are that countless protest marches that constantly snarl traffic in the capital. According to the city government’s own statistics, 3,195 demonstrations took place in Mexico City between January and the end of September. Rather than interfere, police usually protect protestors from irate motorists, the argument being that freedom of expression must be protected.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

‘Mexico’ brand nixed

Resorts and destinations are making a point these days of neglecting to mention that they are in Mexico. Pablo Azcárraga, a top executive with Posadas (Fiesta Americana, etc.), largest chain in the country, says that in light of the country’s image problems, it is better to simply say that a hotel is in Los Cabos or Cancun. Sara Latife, tourism director for Quintana Roo (Cancun, Riviera Maya, Cozumel, etc.) is asking Congress to distribute tourism promotion money directly to the states rather than through the Mexico Tourism Board. The board has invested large sums in developing Mexico as a brand and a logo, but now nobody appears to want it.

Asked about this, Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara said that the Tourism Board’s promotion resulted in 19 percent more visitors arriving by air this year compared to 2009. Also, she noted that the brand and logo have won prizes for their design.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Medical tourism

Nearly 50,000 foreigners have checked into Mexican hospitals this year, a 25 percent increase over 2009, according to a spokesperson for Digital Health Care. The spokesperson added that medical care in Mexico costs about 50 percent less than it does in the United States, although many physicians and surgeons have trained in the USA. And while Mexico may cost less, the average expenditure by these foreign patients was $31,000.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Finally, a brat

On the eighth day he shall find what he seeks. I don’t know who said it, but it has taken me eight days in Leipzig, Dresden and Leipzig again to finally eat my first bratwurst. I found a pushcart in Leipzig’s main shopping district and ordered a brat with horseradish mustard. Heaven!

I have been fed overcooked pork and beef, excellent fish and a variety of potatoes, but it wasn’t until today I had my first brat and first pretzel. I can’t say I had my first beer because that would be a big lie. The Germans can do a lot of things well and one of those things is brewing beer (bier).

One more day here in Leipzig, formerly a part of the German Democratic Republic. The city just celebrated the 21st anniversary of reunification.

Wednesday, I am off to Bavaria where I know I will have the opportunity to eat at least a brat a day and drink been from major-sized steins.

Wreckage

Two months have passed since bankrupt Mexicana Airlines stopped flying. Collateral damage appears to have been extensive. At the Mexico City airport, 70 shops, stores and restaurants have closed, 1,500 ground personnel, 300 sky kitchen employees and 147 private security workers along with pilots, flight attendants and such are out of work. Hard hit, too, has been the meetings and convention business throughout the country.

Investors who bought the airline from the government earlier in the decade lost everything. Creditors, including unionized former employees, are demanding compensation while leasing companies want their jets back. Although there had been talk about getting Mexicana flying again by December, that probably will happen only if some other company buys its name.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Green Angels turn 50

The motorist assistance patrol popularly known as the Green Angels recently celebrated its Golden Anniversary. Small trucks staffed by two mechanics and furnished with tools patrol most highways in Mexico, ready to help with flat tires, broken fan belts, empty gas tanks and more. Service is free, although tips are appreciated and there is a charge if fuel is provided.

When created, Mexican highways could be desolate, with service stations often far apart from one another. Times have changed, but the Angels remain one of the most popular services offered by the government. They are operated by the Tourism Ministry, and absorb most the largest chunk of the Ministry’s budget.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Aeroméxico Premier

The airline that now claims to be Mexico’s only intercontinental carrier has signed an agreement with Canada’s Group Aeroplan, which will now operate Aeroméxico’s Club Premier loyalty program. Club Premier has some 2.5 million members. One advantage for passengers, according to early announcements, is that mileage points now will count for purchasing any seats available, rather than only a limited few. Whether this will require more miles in account was not mentioned.

As for Mexicana, many are promising that it will be flying again by December. Meanwhile, the fight goes on not only for the slots left vacant but also for more check-in space. Interjet reports that passengers sometimes must wait 90 minutes for a boarding pass simply because the airline cannot get space for more counters.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

$20 billion in new investment promised

Pablo Azcárraga, president of the National Hospitality Industry Council, promised that $20 billion will be invested in various tourism-related projects during the next five years. Azcárraga also is president of Posadas de México (Fiesta Americana, etc.), the country’s largest hotel group.

To start things off, Azcárraga announced that the Questro Group will be investing $220 million to build three hotels in Los Cabos while AM Resorts has plans to invest $320 million in Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Huatulco.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers