Politicians Focus on Tourism

Tourism should play an important part in regional development, according to Josefina Vázquez Mota, presidential candidate for the National Action Party, which has held the presidency since 2000. Meanwhile, Miguel Torruco Marqués, who may become tourism minister should Andres Manuel López Obrador (Party of the Democratic Revolution) be elected, urged border states to promote two-nation vacations. Torruco noted that one-day border-crossing visits have declined from 85 million in 2002 to 56 million last year. What he failed to mention is that U.S. citizens now must hold passports if they want to travel abroad. Only a minority of Americans have passports. Front-runner Enrique Peña-Nieto (Party of the Institutionalized Revolution) is promising to revitalize Acapulco, hurt by its reputation for violence and gunfights.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers