Mexico and China aim to boost tourism

A general view of the Kukulkan Pyramid during the Nights of Kukulkan sound and light show at the archaeological zone of Chichen Itza in Yucatan state in December. REUTERS/Lorenzo Hernandez

A mutual cooperation pact signed in Mexico City in mid-December between China and Mexico will promote reciprocal tourism visits in the near future.

Under the specified plan, signed Dec 20, the two sides will expand business cooperation for more benefits by adhering to the principles of win-win cooperation, with an aim to improve understanding of each other's markets, rouse tourists' interest and boost travel.

The day before the agreement was signed, during a meeting with his Mexican counterparts, Li Jinzao, chairman of China National Tourism Administration, said both China and Mexico are major and influential tourism destinations in the world, rich in tourism resources.

Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, director general of the Mexico Tourism Board, presented a promotion strategy for harnessing the Chinese market and prior understandings reached between the presidents of the two countries when they met in Beijing.

Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez, deputy director representing the Mexican Secretariat of Tourism, said tourism is important for the development of Mexico and that the Mexican side would strive to make it more convenient for Chinese tourists to visit the country. He said efforts were being made to prepare activities for the Year of Mexican Tourism in China in 2015.

During the meeting, direct airline routes were suggested. Chinese-Spanish language signs were also highly recommended for public places.

With a new airport being constructed in Mexico City and a Golden Beach tourism project currently underway, Mexico has recently welcomed an increasing number of international visitors. For the first three quarters of this year, Mexico received a total of 21.11 million international tourists from all around the world, an increase of 18.2 percent, with a record foreign exchange earnings amounting to $ 12.04 billion.

The Americas, with particularly positive results in North America in view of the extraordinary performance of Mexico and the United States, led growth during the first 10 months of 2014. This is the region's best performance since 2004, according to a survey by the World Tourism Organization.

Through this past November, a highly visible and interactive exposition of Encuéntrate con Mexico (Meet Mexico), held in Chaoyang Park in Beijing, was shown to attract more Chinese tourists to the beautiful Mexican scenery.

At the pavilion display, a video on an oversized flat screen told the story of Mexico through the magic of holographic imaging of more than 15 of Mexico's famous pre-Hispanic artifacts. An interactive table visually demonstrated to the Chinese guests Mexico's accomplishments in agriculture, automotive, silver and creative industries.

"Cooperation intends to put new impetus into the bilateral tourism development," said Qiu Xiaoqi, Chinese ambassador to Mexico, at the signing ceremony. Representatives from Beijing Tourism Group, HNA Tourism, Wanda Cultural Tourism, and other major tourism enterprises from China and Mexico all joined a network after the signing event.

China and Mexico will cooperate by encouraging tourists to go sightseeing, conducting ticketing, accommodation, catering, transport, tour guide services, and other fields based on local laws and regulations, as well as signed contracts.

Last year, 60,000 Chinese visitors arrived in Mexico, an increase of 4.2 percent, among which 15,000 traveled to other Latin American countries as a first stop. From January to October in 2014, the tourists continued to grow on both sides, with Mexican arrivals in China climbing to about 5.5 million, an increase of 4.8 percent. About 14,000 travelers chose Mexico as their first stop, an increase of 7.3 percent.

This year, it is estimated that about 110 million Chinese tourists will be bounding overseas for their holidays. A record growth of tourism will be set by the end of this year with 1.1 billion tourists traveling the world.

zhangyuchen@chinadaily.com.cn