BajaNomad - Tourism on the rise again ?

Tourism on the rise again ?

djh - 10-13-2010 at 01:06 PM

I'm posting this from our little Loreto community newsgroup. Thought other Nomads would have interest in the article.
Best,
djh

October 8 2010

In a surprising turnabout, international tourism to Mexico showed a sharp increase this summer — a sign that tourists may be putting aside worries about the economy and fears of drug-related violence, analysts say.

The complete article can be viewed at:

L A Times article

Bajahowodd - 10-13-2010 at 01:49 PM

The key element to factor in here is that the H1N1 virus, on top of the recession and the drug violence made the prior year a total disaster. I'm glad to see an increase, but there's a long way to go.

I just got back from two weeks in Baja, where I traveled all the way down to Cabo and back. Stayed at Hotel Cowboy in Guerrero Negro and there were only two other rooms occupied. Stayed at Hacienda Suites in Loreto and they had four occupied rooms. In San Quintin, stayed at the Hotel Mission Santa Maria (the old Desert Inn/ La Pinta) and there was only one other occupied room.

In Cabo, streets were not filled with tourists in the evening, and I saw no evidence that anyone needed a reservation at any restaurant, as people got seated immediately everywhere we went.

sanquintinsince73 - 10-13-2010 at 01:58 PM

"According to Mexican Tourism Officials".....at this point I think that they'll say or print anything to get tourist's back. I hope i am wrong but I believe that we are about to see another escalation in the cartel violence at least in Baja. After recent events in TJ I am now considering leaving my young ones at home every month when I venture to SQ.

mulegemichael - 10-13-2010 at 02:15 PM

the increased tourism is somewhat evident here in mulege as more and more folks are showing up everyday now...i sure hope so..AND...no storms this year...yahoo!!!

BajaGeoff - 10-13-2010 at 02:32 PM

Quote:

Bajahowodd is spot on. Last year was a real rough one for all of the reasons mentioned above. In our own business things have been picking up steadily though since fall of last year, but we do have a long way to go before we see 2007 numbers again.

DENNIS - 10-13-2010 at 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
The key element to factor in here is that the H1N1 virus,

You mean the flu ruined everything for everybody??

sanquintinsince73 - 10-13-2010 at 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
The key element to factor in here is that the H1N1 virus,

You mean the flu ruined everything for everybody??

The cartels are the real disease.

oxxo - 10-13-2010 at 05:22 PM

Recovery in Los Cabos has been spotty. Some of the big hotels saw occupancy numbers this summer similar to last summer (under 10%) while others had a gangbusters summer with occupancy at 70% to 80% even during July, August, and September. It seems that those that marketed most aggressively outside of Mexico were most successful.

Some restaurants have reported outstanding sales this summer. Contrast this to other restaurants that closed or reduced hours. For example Filipi's Pizza Grotto opened 3 months ago in San Jose del Cabo. Phillipi's is a 15 store chain in Southern California. Mark de Phillipi is a founding family member from San Diego and a long time, part time resident of Los Cabos. They opened in the dead of summer and this was their first foray outside the US. He told me he was initally apprehensive, but he has been overwhelmed by the response. After just three months, in the dead of summer, they are already breaking even. He is bullish on the future of Los Cabos and he knows what a potential local drug war could do to business. Another Mexican friend opened a new restaurant in San Lucas, Los Tres Gallos, about 6 months ago. He has no previous restaurant experience. He is already so busy, he is talking about expanding.

Some of my realtor friends reported that September was their busiest month ever. They said that this surge has been fueled primarily by Canadian investors.

My friend Lupita opened a handicrafts store in the Art District in San Jose. She broke even her first month and is now scrambling to bring in more merchandise.

Signs point to a busy high season this year, but it depends on a number of factors in both Mexico and the US. I for one, am happy to see the local Mexicans feeling more confident and enthusiastic about their future.

[Edited on 10-14-2010 by oxxo]

Riom - 10-13-2010 at 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by oxxo
Some of my realtor friends reported that September was their busiest month ever. They said that this surge has been fueled primarily by Canadian investors.

That's interesting about Canadians, a recent New York Times article said the same thing. Canadians are buying, plus Europeans over on the Caribbean coast, rather than the poor and scared Americans.

The Canadian dollar is strong, unlike America there aren't really any warm bits of Canada to stay in the winter if they're scared of travel, and the USA is increasingly rude and unwelcoming to visitors (from anywhere).

So it makes sense Canadians are looking at Mexico for the winters (perhaps in place of Arizona, Florida), or for year-round.

Rob

Bob and Susan - 10-14-2010 at 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sanquintinsince73

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
The key element to factor in here is that the H1N1 virus,

You mean the flu ruined everything for everybody??

The cartels are the real disease.

nope...tourism is controled my the media...
so... the media is the real disease for baja

i agree with oxxo...
"tourists" come in the summer
"snowbirds" in the winter...they spend much less

and i'm pretty sure the dollar is still worth more than the "canadian lunie"

but not by much

shari - 10-14-2010 at 06:35 AM

the canadian dollar is at par with the US dollar today.

tourism here is way down from last year but the poor fishing has alot to do with that...the fishing folk are usually baja fans and arent scared by the cartel violence in border areas.

I found that we had mostly repeat customers here this year and fewer new baja travellers...the baja oldies know its safe here in the boonies.

k-rico - 10-14-2010 at 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
The key element to factor in here is that the H1N1 virus, on top of the recession and the drug violence made the prior year a total disaster. I'm glad to see an increase, but there's a long way to go.

I just got back from two weeks in Baja, where I traveled all the way down to Cabo and back. Stayed at Hotel Cowboy in Guerrero Negro and there were only two other rooms occupied. Stayed at Hacienda Suites in Loreto and they had four occupied rooms. In San Quintin, stayed at the Hotel Mission Santa Maria (the old Desert Inn/ La Pinta) and there was only one other occupied room.

In Cabo, streets were not filled with tourists in the evening, and I saw no evidence that anyone needed a reservation at any restaurant, as people got seated immediately everywhere we went.

You're absolutely right about the reasons for low tourism. But, isn't October usually slow anyway? American and Mexican summer vacations are over and the folks escaping the winter cold up north haven't hit the roads or airports yet. It will be interesting to see what happens this winter in Los Cabos.

Bajahowodd - 10-14-2010 at 01:48 PM

You are probably correct about October being slow normally. Although I've traveled in every season over the years, this was my first time in early October. Was speaking to the clerk at the desk in Hacienda Suites(Loreto). She mentioned that things were slow, but they have substantially increased reservations after 10/15.