This month Los Angeles Times published an opinion editorial article about how American travelers can be good neighbors to Mexico by choosing this country as a vacation destination once again. 

The author, Andrés Martinez is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation who has expressed that Mexico now needs help to reactivate its tourism sector after the Influenza (Swine Flu) scare that took place in May.

He explains “Your neighbor needs your help. Do you have it within you to lend a hand? Will you book yourself a week on the beach in Cabo or Puerto Vallarta, or explore Mexico City or one of the colonial cities in the heart of Mexico? You know, for the common good.

The tourism sector is the largest employer in Mexico and the third-largest source of foreign currency for the trillion-dollar economy, after oil exports and remittances sent home by Mexicans working in the U.S. It is estimated that the swine flu alone will cost the country about $5 billion in tourist revenue (and bear in mind that travel to Mexico was already down significantly as a result of the U.S. recession).

Hotel occupancy rates in Cancun in May didn’t even reach the 30% mark. The all-clear has been sounded on the virus, but no one knows for sure how long-lasting the impact on tourism will be. Mexico’s gross domestic product, meanwhile, is expected to contract about 12% in the second quarter of this year.

Andres Martinez continues “The fact that the United States bears some responsibility for Mexico’s current woes is another reason to invest in our neighbor’s stability and prosperity”.

Americans also share some of the responsibility for the mayhem unleashed by the showdown between the Mexican state and its rapacious drug cartels, as both Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Obama were right to point out in recent months. Drug users in this country are underwriting the war in Mexico — and that war is being waged largely with guns brought in from this country.

Andres Martinez points out those American travelers can help Mexico by booking a trip to the beach destinations that have been badly affected by current international events. His own words say “you can do your part to help out a good neighbor — book a trip south”.  

Source: LATIMES/ www.latimes.com