Mexican tourism up despite drug war

MEXICO CITY — Mexico attracted a record number of foreign visitors last year despite a frightening drug war that is prompting travel warnings for a number of areas around the country.

Mexico’s t ourism agency released new figures showing that the number of foreign travellers arriving by air in 2011 rose to 22.7 million, the most since the Bank of Mexico began keeping track in 1980. There was growth in each of the last five months of the year, officials said.

Tourism also got a boost from Mexican travellers, who registered 167 million visits to tourist spots.

The number of air travellers from the United States to Mexico fell by 3 per cent last year, but tourists from other countries — especially Brazil, Russia, Peru and China — registered sizable increases over 2010.

The enduring carnage of the drug war, with about 50,000 dead in the last five years, has generated substantial media coverage abroad.

Travel operators and Mexican resorts have sought to fill rooms by offering discounts in places such as Acapulco, now among the deadliest spots in the country, though most of the violence occurs far from the main tourist strip.

The State Department’s latest travel warning for Mexico says Americans should avoid travel in parts or all of 14 states around the country.

Last week’s warning is more detailed than prior announcements about potential trouble spots and the perils there. Few major tourist areas are mentioned, though travellers are urged to exercise caution in Acapulco, Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo — all in the violenceplagued state of Guerrero — and in Mazatlan, a popular beach spot in the northwestern state of Sinaloa where killings have soared since 2009.

Tourism is one of Mexico’s top sources of foreign income.