International Tourism in Mexico - Essay Example

Topic: INTERNATIONAL TOURISM IN MEXICO (Name) (Institution) 29/03/2008 Introduction International tourism is defined as the activity of people visiting or touring other foreign countries and destinations outside their home country for purposes of leisure. One of the countries in Asia Pacific region which is a major tourist destination in the world is Mexico. The World Tourism Organization recognizes Mexico as one of the largest tourism industries in the world. It was ranked the 7th in main tourist destination worldwide in the year 2005. In Mexico, tourism is among the largest industries in the country generating much of the foreign income after the oil industry. In average Mexico receives 20 million tourists from all over the world with the main source being the United States and Canada. Mexico is located in southern North America and lies between 23 degrees North and 102 degrees west. It is the 14th largest country in the world in area occupying 1,972,550 Km2 which includes the 6000 Km2 of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California and the Caribbean Sea as well as the remote Guadalupe Island and the Islas Revillagigedo. The location of Mexico is very strategic for it to fetch tourists from the other regions of the world. Mexico borders United States and Canada, Peru, Chile, Cuba, Columbia, and Brazil. These states give a good number of tourists touring Mexico during the year. Africans also tour Mexico for its fame in historic sites, beautiful cities, and the Caribbean Sea that gives Mexico beautiful marine features.(Edgar, 2000) The topography of Mexico is unique and attractive as the country is crossed by sierra Madre, Sierra Madre Occidental mountain ranges from north to south. The volcanic belt of Trans Mexican volcanic belt, Sierra Nevada, also crosses the country. Most of the Mexican territories in the central and northern part lie at high altitude areas with the highest elevation being the Trans Mexican Volcanic belt about 5700m at Pico de Orizaba and Popocatepetl, 5462m above see level. The climate in Mexico also favors the tourist industry as it is temperate throughout the year. The median temperature is 24 and 28 degrees Celsius. These temperatures remain high throughout the year with an average difference of 5 degrees in summer and winter. Mexico is ranked among the 17 mega diverse countries in the world in fact it is the second in overall species. It has over 200000 animal species. It is the first in reptile species with 707 species, the second in mammals with 438 known species, the fourth in amphibians and flora with 290 species of amphibians and 26000 species of flora. Mexico is also ranked second for ecosystem. The Role of the Government in Promoting International Tourism The Mexican government has created a body that deals with sustainable use of the ecosystem. The National System offers Information about Biodiversity studies and promotes sustainable use of the ecosystem. The Mexican Legislation protects about 2500 species. 170 square kilometers are protected natural areas under the government legislation, these protected areas include, 34 reserve biospheres which is an unaltered ecosystem, 64 national parks, 4 natural monuments, 26 areas of protected animals and plants species, four other areas for the protection of natural resources, and 17 sanctuaries. The historic colonial city of Aguascalientes, is known for the festival, San Marcos Fair that attracts over seven million tourists. It is also prestigious as it is very clean as compared to other cities. Development of tourism cites in Mexico and its beauty. In this city there are so many fabulous gardens and squares with tall storied buildings including churches. A wall city in Mexico called Campeche is one of the famous heritage sites in the world. The federal district or the commonly known Mexico City is rich in historic ancient features. It was the former ancient Meso American city with very many popular tourist attractions that include the two pyramids, the pyramid of the sun and the pyramid of the moon. The city has also man made tourists attraction features such as the La Zona Rosa, El Zocalo and El Palenque situated near these pyramids. Mexico City has the world largest bullring and the largest metropolitan cathedral in the National palace which is the biggest cathedral in the Western hemisphere. The largest museum in the world is also found in Mexico, the national museum of anthropology and history that is a major destination for most tourists in Mexico. Morelia, Michoacan is a city of historic riches and has approximately 1000 historic buildings and sites with a city block of 150 city blocks in the city center. These buildings include the cathedrals and churches of the 18th century urban areas of the city. Mexican coastline comprises of several stretches of beaches. The warm temperatures in Mexico allow sun bathing activity in the beaches which is a popular practice with tourists especially students out on a spring break from the United States. For example the peninsula beach in the Cancum resorts. A beach island of Isla Mujeres is just a few meters from this beach resort and to the east the Isla Holbox Island. There is a historical port at the south of Cancun called Tulum which is also a tourist destination point. The town of Tulum is also famous for its cliff side Mayan ruins. The pacific coast on the other hand is famous Acapulco which was once a destination for the rich but currently full of middle class tourists from all over the world. The Acapulco is famous for its renowned cliff divers, many beautiful sky scrappers’ hotels and vendors. Marine fishing is common in the town of Cabo san Lucas in the southern tip of Beja California Peninsula and sport fishing activities in Bahia de la Concepcion. The sport fishing activity is very common with the neighboring United States. Natural Wonders in Mexico There are several natural wonders that happen in Mexico thus making it a tourist destination for more people in the world. Some of this natural wonders include the Copper Canyons or the Barranca del cobre as it is known in Spanish. It is a group of six canyons which are deep though not as large as the grand canyon of the United States; this uniqueness is a major tourist attraction in Mexico. An island in the Caribbean sea known as the island of the swallow (Cozumel) which is in the eastern coast of Mexico known for its scuba diving. Durango a state in Mexico that is known for its scorpions, the people from the state are referred to as the Aracran de Durango meaning a scorpion from Durango. This state is less populated and is the second less populated state after Baja California. The activities carried out by people are farming. The area is also very unique in topography as it is full of mountains and forests. It is also very rich in minerals and silver is mined in Durango. Isla Mujeres is also a tourist attraction site, it is a small island that is full of sea turtles and is historically famous for its spiritual importance. It was termed as a sacred island and was named Isla Mujeres (Island of women) due to the several indications of the moon goddess. The gulf of Californian is a body of water that separates Baja California Peninsula from the mainland Mexico. This gulf opened 5million years ago and changed the flow of river Colorado. This narrow sea gulf is a habitat to a rich unique sea animal species such as the humpback whale, California Gray whale, Leather back sea turtle and many other species not in the sea. The gulf has a history in commercial fishing and sporting world records. Another wonder in Mexico is the la Bufadora; this is a marine geyser in Buja California State. The marine water spouts at an interval of a minute and produces a thunderous sound as well this geyser attracts tourists to the Ensenada city which is 20 miles from the geyser. The city has developed into luxurious hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops and a museum introduced recently to cater for the large number of tourists visiting the wonderful geyser. (Michael, 2003) The Mexican states have a lot of beautiful modern cities which have the necessary infrastructure that support the tourism industry. These infrastructures include: Transport Mexico topography is poor and full of mountains to favor the construction of a rich road and railway network. However, the federal state has managed to intensify roads and railways at least connecting one state to another. The high ways and the express ways are built to enable the movement of people from one place to the other. The movement of agricultural products from the rural is also facilitated by the rich road networks. Perishable vegetables are transported through air transport. (Rebecca, 1999) Mexico has over 1,600 air ports in all its states. This broad network of air transport support the movement of tourists in the country from all over the world especially from the neighboring catch point of the United States and Canada as it was stated earlier that they are the major origin of tourists touring Mexico. Paved roads are extensive in Mexico and are the leading in Latin America. Mexico is also the first in Latin America to promote railway transport. Monterrey, for example, is well connected with the United States border by all forms of transport networks, the sea and inland modern transport lines. This connection enables free movement of tourists from US to Mexico every day throughout the year. All the cities in Mexico are linked to each other through frequent flights since air transport is more intensified than the other forms of transport enabling business and industrialization processes to be easy and achievable. Mexico has a ready source of energy throughout the country managed by the federal government. The reliable source is from oil as Mexico is amongst the world’s largest oil producers. The energy sources are mainly the hydro electric power and substitution of wind power and nuclear generators. Pemex, one of the largest oil companies in the world is responsible for refinery of petroleum in Mexico. The presence of energy in Mexico is a contributing factor to the expansion of the tourism industry in Mexico. Communication network The communication in Mexico is very modern and it is mainly dominated by the Telmex. Telmex has its networks expanded to Columbia, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil which is one of the strategies in encouraging tourists from these regions. (Nicholas, 2006) The communication lines are land line telephone and mobile network which enable free and adequate information flow all over the country and its visitors as well as connecting them to the rest of the world. Communication being a very sensitive and important sector has played a significant role in the development of the tourism industry. The communication industry in Mexico is controlled by the state through its policies. The fact that the Mexican economy is stable is a forward way to make tourists and investors to visit Mexico. Mexico is ranked as an upper middle income country. It is ranked the 12th largest economy in the world. The economy of Mexico reformed very fast after the economic debacle of 1994 and currently the country has expanded its infrastructure, natural gas supply, airports, and other boost in the tourism sector. Public security in Mexico is of high standards and the citizens are protected by the state. The federal state also protects the tourists and intensified its security systems since the September 11 terrorist attack in the United States. The government of Mexico has reputable international relations with all countries as it is a member of the non alignment movement. These combinations of factors have boosted the tourism industry to greater heights in Mexico. The federal government has funded the development of the tourism industry through various projects; it has contributed to the preservation of the ecosystem in Mexico and other important historical monuments. (www.visitmexico.com/) In addition to all the social economic factors, the Mexican culture is wide with the Spanish culture dominating. The Spanish culture is adored in most parts of the world for its music and literature in poetry work. The festivals carried out in the city attract a lot of people from all over the world. The language spoken in Mexico is not specific and any language is used as long as people do communicate freely. Spanish is the commonly spoken by most natives but they can also speak in English adopted from the United States. The use of modern technology in promoting tourism in Mexico has a positive boost to the tourism industry. The use of the internet in advertising the unique destinations have been a success in Mexico. Tourists anywhere in the world can look at the popular destinations, conditions and also book rooms in advance on line. Reservations during peak periods are made in advance to avoid inconveniences. (www.visitmexico.com/) The protection of the ecosystem by the federal government is a step that has boosted the tourism industry in Mexico and now Mexico boasts of a wide variety of species both fauna and flora. The beaches are well maintained to meet the standards of all the tourists. Food production in Mexico is through modern techniques and the foods produced are of high quality. The fruits and vegetables grown in the rural are well preserved and reach the markets on time due to the good transport network. (Nicholas, 2006) Industrialization process has boosted the production of food stuffs which meet the high demand of food by tourists in most cities of Mexico. The political situation of Mexico has for a long time been stable and this is why many tourists tour Mexico because of security. The political neutrality of the Mexican states builds confidence in the people willing to visit Mexico. References Edgar, B. (2000). Information system Management in tourism, (California: University of California) Gilbert, M. et al.(2001). The politics of culture in Mexico, (Mexico: Mexican Folkways) James B. and Hettrick, W. (2002). Tourism in Mexico, Its Development, Dependency, and Spatial Patterns, (Beja California: University of California) Michael, L. (2003). Strengthening domestic tourism in Mexico, (New York, Prentice Hall) Nicholas, D. (2006). Adventures into Mexico, (Columbia, university of Columbia) Rebecca, T. (1999). Linkages between tourism and agriculture in Mexico, (Redlands: University of Redlands) Mexico Tourism Board official website available from www.visitmexico.com/ (Retrieved March 29, 2008) General information about tourism in Mexico available from www.spanish-mexico.com/tourism-mexico/ (Retrieved March 29, 2008) Mexico travel information including info on Mexican tourism, vacations, hotels, beaches, resorts, and more available from www.mexico-travel.com/ (Retrieved March 29, 2008) Read More