With the recent World Cup mania in Mexico, tourists from across the globe descended on the country. On social media, we all saw countless videos of Mexicans and foreign tourists having a great time. So with that in mind, we thought we would ask the question: Does Mexico need more tourists? Perhaps surprisingly to many people who have only been to Mexico’s big beach areas, tourism represents only about 8% of the Mexican economy. Of course at times, some parts of Mexico feel overrun with tourists, but many other amazing destinations are nearly empty.
In this episode of Mexico News Daily’s “Confidently Wrong” podcast, we dig into the topic of tourism in Mexico. We discuss a recent conversation that I had with the Mexican tourism minister, Josefina Rodriguez, and what her team is focused on. We also look at how Mexico tourism numbers compare to other global top tourist destinations like the U.K., Spain and France to get a sense for what the potential could be for Mexico.
Finally, as the world continues to rapidly embrace technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics, countries will need to look for industries that are likely to be less impacted. Tourism is a perfect example of an industry that can not only maintain but likely continue to create jobs and opportunities.
We have all those moments in an airport customs line or waiting to get into Coco Bongo when we felt like Mexico doesn’t need any more tourists … but perhaps that is a “confidently wrong” opinion? Check out the latest episode and tell us what you think.
Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.
