Tourism Growing

International travelers spent nearly $6 billion in Mexico during the first five months of 2013, Tourism Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu told the Tourism Committee at the Chamber of Deputies.  This was a 6.8 percent increase over the previous year. The minister, however, said that Mexico has not been keeping up with its international competition. Now that the Party of the Institutionalized Revolution (PRI) once again controls the federal government — after an absence of 12years — Ruiz Massieu promised that Mexican tourism once again will recover its competitive edge.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Consumer agency sanctions top hotels

The Consumer Protection Agency has placed seals on a dozen of Mexico City’s leading hotels. While the establishments remain open for business, the seals warn customers that the hotels are not posting the prices they charge, something required by law. Once prices are correctly posted, the seals will be removed, but fines remain a possibility.  Hotels explained to their guests that the complaint is that they had not registered with the agency charges for such incidentals as laundry and beverages in minibars. Meanwhile, McDonald’s has been fined for misleading advertising. The protection agency itself came under fire recently when it threatened to sanction a restaurant that failed to provide a desired table to the daughter of its former director. That director has since resigned.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Caring for Business Travelers

The InterContinental Hotel Group plans to open 32 establishments in Mexico during the next three years. Of these, 85 percent will be geared toward the business travel market. The organization offers franchisers nearly a dozen brands to select from. In cities such as Monclova and Orizaba, but also Mexico City, interest is higher in less luxurious properties, which cost less to build and are easier to fill.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Chinese Challenge

While Tourism Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu feels that her promotion trip to China last week was a success, luring more Chinese travelers remains a challenge. Getting here from China is not easy and once in Mexico, language can be a trial. In the entire country there are only three licensed guides who speak Mandarin. Even so, nearly 20,000 Chinese visited Mexico during the first quarter of 2013. This was a 35 percent increase over 2012. Plans now include an easing of visa requirements and taking advantage of the large number of Mexicans descended from Chinese immigrants.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Puebla gets a big wheel

A Ferris wheel (to quote from Wikipedia) is a structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars (sometimes referred to as gondolas or capsules) attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity. What is claimed to be the world’s biggest (80 meters or 262 feet from top to bottom) opened to the public in Puebla this week. Goal is to attract more tourists to Puebla, a city about 80 miles east of Mexico City, which already has many attractions ranging from good food to good night life, historical buildings and even the world’s largest pyramid (by volume, not height). All that Puebla lacks is a beach.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

YAI Fall Programs

Everybody has his or her favorite season in Yellowstone, and autumn certainly has its aficionados who make special trips for wildlife viewing and hiking while the temperatures are comfortable and the air is dry.
“Fall has a different feel to it, and it is apparent with changes in animals’ behavior as the elk are in rut and bears are preparing for hibernation,” said Daniel Bierschwale, director of sales and marketing for the Yellowstone Association. “It’s also a great time to hike the trails and explore parts of the park most people never see.”
The Yellowstone Association Institute offers several special programs that take full advantage of this season. YAI programs are led by expert naturalists who view the park as their classroom and the programs as an opportunity to share their passion that is Yellowstone National Park.
The meeting point for the following Field Seminars is the Yellowstone Association headquarters in Gardiner, Mont. Participants in these programs have the option of staying at the nearby Yellowstone Overlook Field Campus featuring two three-bedroom, two-bathroom modern log cabins for up to 12 people and a two-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin for up to five people. Field Seminars are limited to 12 participants.

Field Seminars

Raptors Over Yellowstone will feature classroom sessions devoted to viewing images of raptors and discussing the ecology of each species followed by trips to Hayden Valley where participants and their leader will discuss the fine points of raptor identification and compile lists of the various species they observe. Rates are $248 per person. Raptors Over Yellowstone will be held Sept. 6-8.

Autumn Day Hiking in Yellowstone is offered Sept. 22-25. Participants will explore the park on daily hikes of 8 to 12 miles with elevation gains of up to 2,000 feet. Along the way, the YAI guide will share her expertise on the park’s geology, plant life and history while being constantly on the lookout for the park’s many animal species. Rates are $358 per person.

Participants in Autumn Wildlife Watching offered Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 will spend three full days in the field observing as many species as possible. At this time of year elk are returning to lower elevations with bull elk sporting full sets of antlers and competing for the attention of the females during the rut. Bears are entering their hyperphagia phase where they are ingesting large amounts of calories in preparation of the winter hibernation. Wolves are more commonly spotted as they follow the patterns of the elk as well. Rates are $330 per person.

Lodging & Learning

Roosevelt Rendezvous is a “Lodging & Learning” program featuring daytime field excursions followed by comfortable lodging at night. This program takes place in September after the historic Roosevelt Lodge, located in the Tower-Roosevelt area in the northeast quadrant of the park, is closed to the general public for the season. Up to 52 participants will stay at the lodge for four nights. During the day they split up into groups led by YAI naturalists guides as they enjoy wildlife watching as well as forays into areas with Yellowstone’s renowned thermal and geologic features. They will then reconvene at the end of the day for dinner and the opportunity to compare notes.
This year three sessions will be offered starting Sept. 6, 10 and 14. Rates are $897 per person for single occupancy and $759 per person for double occupancy. Rates do not include taxes or utility fees. The program includes four nights in private cabins with bathroom facilities nearby, expert instruction from naturalists/guides, in-park transportation and meals. The minimum age to participate is 12.

YAI also offers Private Tours tailored for families and small groups and tours typically focus on wildlife watching, natural history and geology, thermal features or hiking. In addition to the Overlook Campus, many Field Seminars are held at the Institute’s Lamar Buffalo Ranch Field Campus, where simple and comfortable log cabins are available for $30 per person per night.
Reservations can be made by calling (406) 848-2400.
YAI is a membership-based nonprofit  organization. For information about becoming a member, visit www.yellowstoneassociation.org/membership/. For more information about any Institute program visit www.YellowstoneAssociation.org or FaceBook.com/YellowstoneAssociation.
To receive a course catalog or for more information go to www.YellowstoneAssociation.org or call (406) 848-2400. — Submitted by Mona Mesereau

Canada Visa Woes

A strike by Canada’s foreign service workers is causing problems for Mexicans. Not only are there delays in issuing visas, but on occasions there are delays in returning passports. Four years ago, Canada began requiring Mexican tourists to obtain visas, a time-consuming and costly process that severely curtailed Mexican pleasure travel to Canada. Promotional campaigns attempted to counter this. Then came the strike. Passports must be delivered to Canadian officials for visas to be inserted. With the strike, according to press reports, there have been delays in returning passports, forcing cancelation of travel plans.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Tourism Minister in China

Accompanied by members of her team, Tourism Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu is in China this week, hoping to develop more travel to Mexico from that country. Tourism between the two countries has been increasing, with an estimated 31 percent more Chinese arriving in Mexico thus far this year, compared to 2012, when the increase was 29 percent. The numbers themselves, however, remain miniscule. One aim is to increase direct air connection, now limited to Aeroméxico’s flights to Shanghai via Tijuana. The two countries have agreed to declare 2015 the Year of Chinese-Mexico Tourism.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Mexico City Woos Visitors

This summer officials hope 200,000 Americans will visit Mexico City. The capital once again is actively promoting itself as a destination. Miguel Torruco, former president of the National Tourism Confederation, now heads the city’s tourism office. While noting that most vacationers head to the beaches, he pointed out that Mexico City brims with museums and stores, is noted — or should be — for its outstanding restaurants and luxurious hotels. “We need to get the wordm out,” he declared.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Acapulco Sunshine

Guerrero Gov. Angel Aguirre reports that his promotion trip to New York, Washington and Miami was a great success. He says that he has interested Marriott in returning to Acapulco and opening a hotel in Ixtapa as well. To get there, he says that United and Air Canada will inaugurate routes and that Aeroméxico plans direct service from U.S. cities. On top of that, he has organized a fam trip to Acapulco for spring break tour operators. Acapulco, once the prime international resort destination in Mexico, has lost out, both because of increased international competition and because of criminal activity.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Apple Plans Major Investments

At an event in Los Pinos — the Executive Mansion — President Enrique Peña Nieto announced that the Apple Leisure Group (Apple Vacations, AM Resorts, but no computers) plans to invest $600 million in resort projects for Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and the Riviera Maya.  Accompanied by Tourism Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu and by Alejandro Zozaya, president of Apple, Peña Nieto underscored the importance tourism holds in the Mexican economy. He declared that the hospitality industry has grown by 6.6 percent this year, adding that his goal is to make Mexico a “world class tourism destination.” Only recently he stated that his administration — which ends in2018 — will invest 100 billion pesos in tourism infrastructure, improving airports, harbors and roads, among other things.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Summer Vacation Season Starts

School is out and the summer vacation season has begun. It will last until Aug. 19 and during that time, according to the private sector National Tourism Confederation, 1.24 million international travelers will come to Mexico and spend $1.9 billion. Foreigners, however, will account for only about 20 percent of all summer vacationers, the rest, of course, being Mexicans. They will be spending $5.1 billion. Mexicans traveling abroad will spend about half-a-billion dollars. All of this works out to about 1 percent more than 2012 figures.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers