R 231630Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL MATAMOROS
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4360
AMEMBASSY MEXICO 
INFO ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
AMCONSUL MATAMOROS

UNCLAS MATAMOROS 000018 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP BTIO ECON ELAB MX PGOV
SUBJECT: PUSHING THE TOURIST ECONOMY IN NORTHERN MEXICO: IS IT 
WORKING? 
 
REF: MATAMOROS 308 
 
(U) 1. SUMMARY: While the maquiladora industry remains the king 
of the border economy, Mexico's northern states still rely 
heavily on tourist dollars. In 2009, with the combination of a 
weakened US economy and increasingly visible security threats in 
Mexico, the tourism industry faces particular challenges. 
Tamaulipas and neighboring states have ramped up efforts to 
attract tourist dollars with efforts geared toward keeping 
Mexican tourists at home (reftel), while attracting US and other 
foreign visitors. The tourist economy across northeastern Mexico 
is hurting -- security is a concern and day vacationers are not 
crossing into Mexico, but tourists continue to visit farther 
into the interior and tying vacations to business travel appears 
to be a growing trend. 
 
Mexican States' Promotional Efforts 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶2. EconOff attended a travel exposition in McAllen, Texas, on 
January 9 which included seven Mexican state tourism 
secretariats (San Luis Potosi, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Nuevo Leon, 
Durango, Zacatecas and Tamaulipas) and numerous independent 
exhibitors from across Mexico to further investigate regional 
tourism trends. Mexican tourism representatives were out in full 
force for the annual event specifically designed to attract 
`Winter Texans' to regional tourism. (Winter Texans are 
typically retired couples from the northern US and Canada living 
in the region during the winter months to take advantage of the 
temperate climate.) In addition to promotions by the various 
state Secretaries of Tourism, all seven of the state-sponsored 
booths included the free use of booth space for private travel 
companies (hotels, resorts, etc.) and representatives from 
municipalities within the states, varying in size and scope. 
Unlike Zacatecas and Monterrey, for example, Durango sees many 
regional tour groups, with far fewer visiting from greater 
distances. While many Americans are afraid to drive themselves 
in Mexico, group visits via buses and organized tours are still 
popular. As a result, Durango has seen little slowdown in 
overall tourism despite the drop in individual Americans driving 
into Mexico. 
 
¶3.  In the border region, billboard advertising has also grown 
in popularity to attract Mexican and regional tourists from the 
US. The Tamaulipas Secretary of Tourism has advertised the 
state's beach resorts south of the border, encouraging Mexican 
travelers to stay in Mexico. According to Yadira Diaz, 
representative of the Tampico, Tamaulipas, Secretary of Tourism, 
Tampico's main goal is still to attract Mexican tourists -- 
keeping their dollars away from Texas. Nuevo Leon, on the other 
hand, has recently added billboards promoting Monterrey as a 
tourist destination along highways on the US-side of the Rio 
Grande Valley. The new advertisements were timed well to meet 
the seasonal arrival of Winter Texans and the annual travel 
expo. Arturro Monctezuma with Apple Tree Cabanas, about 80 
minutes south of Monterrey, and representatives of the Monterrey 
Secretary of Tourism indicated that Monterrey tourism continues 
to grow as the city makes a continued push to move its economy 
beyond industry. According to Monctezuma, air travelers make up 
a significant portion of the increase in tourists as a fear of 
driving from the US into Mexico is keeping many visitors away 
despite regional promotion efforts. 
 
¶4. Farther into the interior, Zacatecas has reported a 300 
percent increase in tourism in the past few years with many new 
visitors coming from Japan, Australia and Canada. `Semana Santa' 
and Zacatecas' music festival (featuring artists like Bob Dylan) 
are big draws for international tourists. According to Luis 
Raudel Rivas Naches, director of promotion for the Zacatecas 
Secretary of Tourism, Zacatecas is allegedly the most secure 
state in the country which helps the state promote itself. 
 
Taking Advantage of Business Travel 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶5. In Tamaulipas, new resorts and other facilities are being 
development and heavily promoted to attract business clientele 
with meeting rooms and other business travel draws. A new hotel 
has been completed near the `El Cielo' bio-reserve south of the 
state capital in Ciudad Victoria. Additionally, significant 
investments are being made to convert La Pesca, Tamaulipas, into 
a new Gulf Coast tourist destination, and city of Tampico also 
recently opened a new multi-million dollar Convention and 
Tourist Center (reftel). 
 
¶6. The city of Saltillo and the state of Coahuila also note 
relative stability in tourism dollars. According to Cristina de 
Hoyos Villarreal, coordinator of groups and conventions for the 
city of Saltillo, business travel is still driving a significant 
portion of the tourism dollars. She indicated that Korean and 
Canadian businessmen, for example, regularly bring their 
families with them when visiting for work for one or two week 
stays. 
 
Border Tourism is Down 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. Attractions in the border region typically visited by Winter 
Texans are hurting significantly. While some blame confusion in 
regard to US border crossing regulations (changing deadlines for 
AmCits needing passports to re-enter the US, etc.), most of the 
blame is being placed on the security situation and the US media 
for scaring away valuable tourist dollars. The Chamber of 
Commerce in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, which includes the town of 
Nuevo Progresso which offers arguably the most convenient 
Mexican border shopping district in the region, reports that the 
2008 Winter Texan season saw a 50 percent decrease in retail 
sales. The Mercado Juarez in Matamoros had reports of drastic 
sales drops, down as much as 80 percent last year. And this year 
is not expected to be any better. According to press reports in 
late December, a low flow of winter tourists from the United 
States this season has led to as many as 33 percent of the local 
arts and crafts market vendors in Mercado Juarez to go out of 
business. Affiliated businesses are also struggling. `For the 
last two months we have been agonizing, due to the lack of 
passengers,' said Francisco Dominguez, a taxicab driver 
stationed at Matamoros' main plaza. 
 
¶8. Hunting tourism is another example of a tourism push -- and 
struggle -- in the state of Tamaulipas which is the number one 
hunting site for foreign tourists according to the state 
Department of Tourism. As of November, the state expected more 
than 17,000 hunters from the US and Canada during the 2008-09 
stag season which lasts through January. Each hunting tourist 
spends an average of 1,000 USD according to one state official, 
resulting in millions of dollars in revenue for the hunting 
industry during stag season, alone. (Bird hunting is also 
popular throughout the state at other times of the year.) 
However, a late December press report noted that the current 
deer hunting season in Tamaulipas has `been a failure,' 
allegedly due to the economic crisis in the U.S. and Canada. 
According to the press report, only 50 hunting tourists had 
registered at the Zaragoza International Bridge in Matamoros as 
of the end of December. 
 
¶9. COMMENT: While the maquiladora industry is the backbone of 
the border economy, Mexico's northern states rely heavily on 
tourist dollars. The combination of a weakened US economy and 
security threats in Mexico mean the tourism industry will face 
particular challenges in 2009. From taxi drivers who transport 
pedestrians from international bridges to shopping districts, to 
pharmacies that rely heavily on selling discounted drugs to 
Winter Texans, to hunting lodges farther into the interior, the 
threat to small- and medium-sized businesses is arguably most 
severe. And despite government and private efforts to promote 
new segments of the tourist industry, such as resorts geared 
toward business meetings and draws for weekend visitors farther 
from the border, the tough global economy could threaten many 
new ventures almost before they start. However, if the newer 
ventures, in particular, survive the downturn and the current 
security environment, they offer promise of diversifying the 
regional economy and creating new service sector jobs that could 
benefit thousands of workers with few other options outside of 
city-centric maquiladoras and the low-paying agro-economy in 
Mexico's northern states. 
 
 
HAMMOND