Tourism in Mexico
holds considerable significance as a pivotal industry within Mexico's economic landscape. Beginning in the 1960s, it has been vigorously endorsed by the Mexican government, often heralded as "an industry without smokestacks," signifying its non-polluting and economically beneficial nature.
Mexico has consistently ranked among the world's most frequented nations, as documented by the World Tourism Organization. Second only to the United States in the Americas, Mexico's status as a premier tourist destination is underscored by its standing as the sixth-most visited country globally for tourism activities, as of 2017. The country boasts a noteworthy array of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, encompassing ancient ruins, colonial cities, and natural reserves, alongside a plethora of modern public and private architectural marvels.
Mexico has attracted foreign visitors beginning in the early nineteenth century, with its cultural festivals, colonial cities, nature reserves and beach resorts. Mexico's allure to tourists is largely attributed to its temperate climate and distinctive cultural amalgamation, blending European and Mesoamerican influences. The nation experiences peak tourism seasons typically during December and the mid-Summer months. Additionally, brief spikes in visitor numbers occur in the weeks preceding Easter and Spring break, notably drawing college students from the United States to popular beach resort locales.
Visitors to Mexico originates primarily from the United States and Canada. Additionally, Mexico attracts visitors from various Latin American countries, with a smaller contingent coming from Europe and Asia.
History of tourism
19th century
Tourism in Mexico burgeoned subsequent to the establishment of the Mexican republic. Noteworthy figures such as Alexander von Humboldt, Frannie Calderón de la Barca, John Lloyd Stephens, and Edward B. Tylor significantly contributed to the burgeoning interest in Mexico as a tourist destination through their writings and explorations. Alexander von Humboldt, a renowned naturalist and explorer, penned detailed accounts of his travels throughout Mexico during the early 19th century. His comprehensive observations on Mexico's geography, flora, and fauna captured the imagination of many prospective travelers, thus fostering an initial interest in the region.Tourists from the United States began arriving in Mexico in numbers starting in the 1880s, following the construction of direct railway lines in Mexico to the U.S. border. General Porfirio Díaz became president of Mexico by coup in 1876, the beginning of a long period of peace in Mexico following decades of civil war. With the inauguration of direct Pullman service from the U.S. to Mexico in 1884, tourists no longer endured difficult and dangerous travel. The Mexican Central Railway actively promoted tourism in the United States, hiring a professional photographer, William Henry Jackson, to visually record the route and a professional writer, James W. Steel, to write promotional copy. Guides for English-speaking tourists were also published, most notably Terry's Guide to Mexico, which went through several editions at the beginning of the twentieth century. Mexico appealed to American tourists seeking an "exotic" holiday. It was promoted in 1890 as the "Egypt of the New World." With the 1910 centennial of Mexican independence, the government undertook an excavation and reconstruction of the Pyramid of the Sun at the huge archeological site of Teotihuacan, near Mexico City. A railway line was constructed from the capital to the site, bringing scholars from the 1910 meeting of the International Congress of Americanists. In addition, the National Museum of Anthropology was refurbished in advance of the celebrations, in anticipation of tourists. Mexico was a beneficiary of the increasing tourism of Europeans and Americans to distant lands. In Mexico, many tourists brought home real or fake relics, and often left graffiti.
20th and 21st centuries
The Mexican Revolution interrupted tourism in Mexico, but by the 1930s, the Mexican government began promoting tourism again with posters of light-skinned young women and lush gardens. In the 1920s and 30s, there was an "enormous vogue of things Mexico" in the United States, resulting in cultural exchanges, temporary and permanent art exhibitions, and patronage of Mexican artists, such as muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. Starting with the administration of Plutarco Elías Calles, the Mexican government became involved in promoting tourism in Mexico, eventually becoming a cabinet position, the Ministry of Tourism in 1975.In 1929, Mexican president Emilio Portes Gil officially announced the country's entry into the tourism industry. Over the next few years, the industry stayed small because of the ongoing Great Depression, so the government focused its attention on research and was ready after World War II to welcome tourists who could no longer visit Europe instead.
During the Jazz Age and the era of Prohibition of alcohol in the U.S., border towns in Mexico, particularly Tijuana became destinations for vice tourism. The song "South of the Border " song by Frank Sinatra helped promote the region. It was known for casino gambling, glitzy floor shows, horse- and dog-racing, and other hedonistic pursuits. Chicago gangster Al Capone frequented the Agua Caliente resort, as did big names from Hollywood. "Mafia chic and Hollywood star power fueled the Tijuana mystique and imbued it with ersatz glamour." When Lázaro Cárdenas became president of Mexico, 1934–40, he cracked down on casino gambling in northern Mexico, since it was a source of money and power for Cárdenas's political rivals, former presidents Plutarco Elías Calles and Abelardo L. Rodríguez.
File:Piedra_del_sol_Porfirio_Diaz.png|thumb|left|upright|Porfirio Díaz in 1910 at the National Museum of Anthropology with the Aztec Calendar Stone. The regime appropriated the indigenous past for patriotic and state purposes, including promoting tourism
When Cárdenas was governor of his home state of Michoacan and later, when he was president of Mexico and beyond, he promoted tourism to Michoacan and particularly to the historic town of Pátzcuaro. He commissioned murals to show the importance of the region's history to the history of Mexico, promoted indigenous performance in music and dance, and actively had Michoacan advertised as a tourist destination.
The Mexican government developed beach resorts in the 1940s and 1950s in Acapulco, under president Miguel Alemán, who in his post-presidency became Commissioner of Tourism. Other beach resorts on the Pacific coast were also developed, including Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and on the Baja California peninsula at Cabo San Lucas. Later on the Yucatan Peninsular the government promoted the development of Cancún. The importance of tourism in Mexico has seen its head having a cabinet-level position. Attracting tourists from the developed world spurred the construction of upscale hotels, particularly by U.S. hotel chains. San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato developed as an artists' colony. Unlike beach resorts developed by the Mexican government, San Miguel was promoted to tourists by locals.
Starting in the late twentieth century, Mexico has been alert to international venues to both protect tourist destinations such as archeological sites, colonial cities, and natural wonders listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. With the inauguration of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage program, Mexico has certified the cultural importance of Days of the Dead, Mexican cuisine, mariachi music, and charrería, among others. Private philanthropy has played an important role in the preservation and restoration of a number of Mexican sites, most prominently by entrepreneur Carlos Slim, whose Foundation for the Historic Center of the City of Mexico has made a significant difference in the historic core of the capital, including security concerns.
Violence and political turmoil in Mexico has been a problem which affects travel and tourism. The years of the Porfirio Díaz regime saw a decrease in violence and the rise of tourism. The Mexican Revolution 1910-20 was a major civil war, but following that the Mexican government achieved a level internal security that saw the rise of tourism and cultural exchanges in the 1920s and 1930s. In recent years, with the drug war in Mexico, U.S. State Department travel advisories have alerted tourists to the dangers of certain areas of the country.
Statistics
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The primary nations from which tourists embark on journeys to Mexico, manifesting a notable proportion of air arrivals, include the United States, Canada, and various European countries.