Rosarito Beach Hotel Is Developer of the Year
For 271-Suite 17-Story Condo-Hotel Project
By Ron Raposa
ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO---The Rosarito Beach Hotel has been named Developer of the Year for its 17-story, 271-suite beachfront condo-hotel tower, which was inaugurated Aug. 2.
The award from the Baja California Meeting Point and the Baja State Secretary of Tourism was presented at an Oct. 23 banquet to hotel executive director Laura Torres and project director Somit Talwar.
The $55-million project which was completed in 18 months is the first condo-hotel to open in Baja, California. With its opening the Rosarito Beach Hotel, a landmark since 1925, became the largest resort in Baja, with 500 units.
“We’re very proud of this new addition,” said Ms. Torres. “Not only does it provide the option of ownership for the first time in the hotel’s history, it also greatly expands the lodging opportunities and amenities available to our guests.”
Added Mr. Talwar, “We were very pleased to complete this project on time, while maintaining the highest construction standards and a commitment to be earth friendly and energy efficient. At the same time, we were able to maintain a high level of sales.”
The condo-hotel project, also know as the Pacifico Tower, joins two other towers at the seaside resort.
One-bedroom to three-bedroom penthouse suites are offered for purchase at prices ranging from the high $100’s to $600,000. Owners have the option of placing their suites in a rental program when not in use, under a 50-50 revenue split with the hotel.
The condo-hotel Pacifico Tower feature a rooftop infinity pool plus another at ground level, poolside bars, a billiard room with bar, gymnasium and its own concierge. A rooftop restaurant with a panoramic views of the city and sea is planned.
All suites are fully furnished in contemporary Mexican décor, with original art from leading local painters.
In addition, owners and guests have access to all amenities of the legendary and historic hotel, including casual and gourmet restaurants, the elegant Casa Playa Spa, bars and entertainment.
“With the addition of the Pacifico Tower, we are able to offer a wide range of lodging options at various price points,” Ms. Torres said. “That enables us to tailor the hotel experience to meet almost every need and budget, from singles to couples and families.”
Since opening in 1925 the Rosarito Beach Hotel has hosted millions of guests, including such Hollywood luminaries as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Gregory Peck, plus dignitaries from around the world.
Thanks for visit my blog
Gustavo Torres
remax-baja.com
1-866-588-2252
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Mexico Unveils Emergency Spending To Combat Crisis
Mexico's President Unveils Emergency Spending Program To Combat Financial Crisis
MEXICO CITY, Oct. 15, 2008
AP) President Felipe Calderon on Wednesday unveiled plans for 53 billion pesos ($4.4 billion) in emergency spending on roads, schools, hospitals and an oil refinery next year to help Mexico combat the world financial crisis.
In a televised address, Calderon assured Mexicans the nation's banks are solid and haven't slowed lending to companies or individuals, despite a global credit crunch that has sent stocks here tumbling and seen the peso weaken to a record low against the dollar.
The $4.4 billion in additional investment for 2009 would be used "to build infrastructure projects that will bring direct social benefits to millions of Mexicans and help keep our economy on track," Calderon said.
The proposal, which was sent to Congress on Wednesday, "is not a financial rescue package, but will focus on strengthening the motors of our economy" to mitigate the negative effects of the crisis, he said.
The proposal includes 10 billion pesos ($837 million) for energy projects, including a new oil refinery. The refinery will be the first built in almost 30 years, he said.
The plan calls for spending 26 billion pesos ($2 billion) on building roads, houses, schools and prisons. It also would support small- and medium-sized businesses by expanding their credit and allowing them to bid in government projects.
Calderon said Mexico faces a 28 billion pesos ($2.3 billion) decrease in public income next year due to a drop in remittances, falling oil prices and a slowdown in tourism.
The emergency spending would be financed by changing Pemex's accounting rules, which if approved by Congress, would give the federal government an extra 78 billion pesos ($6.2 billion), he said.
Last month, the government sent Congress a $270 billion budget that assumed Mexican crude oil prices would average around $80 a barrel.
Oil income makes up about 40 percent of budgeted revenue.
Earlier Wednesday, Mexico's central bank moved to auction off $2.5 billion in reserves to prop up the struggling peso.
Bank of Mexico President Guillermo Ortiz said the bank received 59 bids of $1.7 billion. Of those, 31 were accepted for a total sale of $998 million. The bank will continue auctioning off the rest of the designated reserves on Thursday.
Ortiz said Mexican currency markets on Monday had fluctuations not seen since 1995, when the country was mired in its own banking crisis. But he emphasized that today, "Mexico's banking institutions are solid."
Wednesday's dollar auction came hours after the peso dropped below a record 14 to the U.S. dollar. It recovered to around 12 to the dollar after the bank's announcement, but was still down significantly since closing last week at 11.1 to the dollar.
If the peso falls more than 2 percent in value from the day before, the bank said it will auction off an additional $400 million more a day. Mexico's international reserves were at $84 billion on Friday.
Mexico's Treasury Department said in a statement late Wednesday it was lowering its 2008 economic growth outlook to 2 percent from 2.4 percent. It also revised its GDP growth forecast for 2009 from 3 to 1.8 percent.
Mexico's economy, long dependent on its northern neighbor, had weathered the global crisis relatively well until the peso's fall. The drop was the first strong sign that Mexico was in for a bumpy economic future.
Thanks for visit my blog
Gustavo Torres
remax-baja.com
1-866-588-2252
Friday, October 24, 2008
U.S. Vows More Help for Homeowners
By VIKAS BAJAJ
Published: October 23, 2008
With foreclosures mounting, Bush administration officials said Thursday that they were preparing to step up efforts to help struggling homeowners.
A senior policy maker told a Senate committee that the administration was working on a plan under which the government would offer to shoulder some of the losses on loans that are modified.
The insurance program could cost tens of billions of dollars, according to a person briefed on discussions about the plan, and would be run by the Treasury Department under the $700 billion financial rescue bill Congress passed earlier this month.
The remarks about the plan, made by Sheila C. Bair, the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, came as a new report showed that foreclosure filings jumped 71 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier. At the hearing, Congressional Democrats criticized the administration for not doing enough to help homeowners even as the Treasury and Federal Reserve have moved to inject hundreds of billions of dollars into banks and the financial system.
Ms. Bair, who has been one of the most ardent proponents of loan modifications, acknowledged that more needed to be done. “We are behind the curve,” Ms. Bair told the Senate Banking Committee. “We are falling behind. There has been some progress, but it’s not been enough, and we need to act and we need to act quickly and we need to act dramatically.”
Details of the plan are expected in the next week or two. Ms. Bair told senators that policy makers were contemplating creating standardized loan modification practices that would be used by mortgage servicing firms, which handle billing and collection on behalf of investors and banks. Loans modified under those principles would qualify for a partial federal guarantee. In other words, if homeowners defaulted on their loan again, part of the loss would be borne by the government. It was unclear whether investors or homeowners would have to pay premiums for that protection.
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and the chairman of the banking committee, commended the program, which he said he wrote into the rescue package in consultation with Ms. Bair.
“This slender provision alone could help countless deserving Americans escape the foreclosure trap,” he said.
The guarantee program would be used alongside another element of the rescue plan that would have the government directly purchase and modify mortgages.
Since late last year, the government has tried various approaches to limit foreclosures, but analysts say those efforts have not done enough to stem rising defaults. A recent analysis by Rod Dubitsky of Credit Suisse, showed that 44 percent of borrowers whose loans were modified but whose monthly payment did not decrease fell behind on payments again in the next eight months. By contrast, that rate was 15 to 23 percent for modifications that lowered payments, depending on which loan terms were changed.
Why more loans are not being modified is the subject of heated debate. Some in the industry say it is hard to reach borrowers and many of them do not want to stay in their homes anyway. Advocates for low-income homeowners say servicing firms are overwhelmed by defaults. People on both sides acknowledge that modifications are complicated because most mortgages are no longer held by banks. Instead, they are packaged into securities.
The administration’s latest approach of guaranteeing loans appears to be intended to give the servicing firms an incentive to modify loans in ways that they may have been reluctant to do so far. The guarantee could strengthen the hand of firms in discussion with investors who are upset about modifications.
Earlier this summer, Congress created another program, Hope for Homeowners, that also offers government guarantees, though under different terms. In that plan, servicing firms that willingly write down delinquent loans and pay a premium can have the loan refinanced by new mortgages that are guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. When homeowners eventually sell their homes, they have to share any profits with the government.
In the Senate hearing, Brian D. Montgomery, the F.H.A. commissioner, said that the program started operating on Oct. 1 but added that “it will take time for the lending community to get the program up and running.”
Earlier on Thursday, RealtyTrac, a default-tracking service, reported that foreclosure filings jumped by more than 71 percent in the third quarter, to 765,000, from the period a year earlier. There was a slight dip in filings in September, from August, but the company said that decrease was caused by new laws in some states like California and North Carolina that have delayed the start of some foreclosures. In Massachusetts, which enacted a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures three months earlier, default filings surged in September.
RealtyTrac tracks foreclosures based on court filings in 2,200 counties. Critics have said that multiple court filings on each home inflate its statistics. RealtyTrac says it adjusts its data to account for multiple filings.
At the White House, Mr. Bush’s press secretary, Dana Perino, warned that the country was in for “a rocky road” on “the employment front.” She also said the administration expects next week’s report on third-quarter gross domestic product “not to be a good one, and the next quarter could probably be tough as well.”
The remarks were significant, coming from a White House that has traditionally been reluctant to offer forecasts in advance of reports. But Ms. Perino said she was “just trying to be realistic.”
Sheryl Gay Stolberg contributed reporting.
GUSTAVO TORRES
www.remax-baja.com
1-866-588-2252
Published: October 23, 2008
With foreclosures mounting, Bush administration officials said Thursday that they were preparing to step up efforts to help struggling homeowners.
A senior policy maker told a Senate committee that the administration was working on a plan under which the government would offer to shoulder some of the losses on loans that are modified.
The insurance program could cost tens of billions of dollars, according to a person briefed on discussions about the plan, and would be run by the Treasury Department under the $700 billion financial rescue bill Congress passed earlier this month.
The remarks about the plan, made by Sheila C. Bair, the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, came as a new report showed that foreclosure filings jumped 71 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier. At the hearing, Congressional Democrats criticized the administration for not doing enough to help homeowners even as the Treasury and Federal Reserve have moved to inject hundreds of billions of dollars into banks and the financial system.
Ms. Bair, who has been one of the most ardent proponents of loan modifications, acknowledged that more needed to be done. “We are behind the curve,” Ms. Bair told the Senate Banking Committee. “We are falling behind. There has been some progress, but it’s not been enough, and we need to act and we need to act quickly and we need to act dramatically.”
Details of the plan are expected in the next week or two. Ms. Bair told senators that policy makers were contemplating creating standardized loan modification practices that would be used by mortgage servicing firms, which handle billing and collection on behalf of investors and banks. Loans modified under those principles would qualify for a partial federal guarantee. In other words, if homeowners defaulted on their loan again, part of the loss would be borne by the government. It was unclear whether investors or homeowners would have to pay premiums for that protection.
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and the chairman of the banking committee, commended the program, which he said he wrote into the rescue package in consultation with Ms. Bair.
“This slender provision alone could help countless deserving Americans escape the foreclosure trap,” he said.
The guarantee program would be used alongside another element of the rescue plan that would have the government directly purchase and modify mortgages.
Since late last year, the government has tried various approaches to limit foreclosures, but analysts say those efforts have not done enough to stem rising defaults. A recent analysis by Rod Dubitsky of Credit Suisse, showed that 44 percent of borrowers whose loans were modified but whose monthly payment did not decrease fell behind on payments again in the next eight months. By contrast, that rate was 15 to 23 percent for modifications that lowered payments, depending on which loan terms were changed.
Why more loans are not being modified is the subject of heated debate. Some in the industry say it is hard to reach borrowers and many of them do not want to stay in their homes anyway. Advocates for low-income homeowners say servicing firms are overwhelmed by defaults. People on both sides acknowledge that modifications are complicated because most mortgages are no longer held by banks. Instead, they are packaged into securities.
The administration’s latest approach of guaranteeing loans appears to be intended to give the servicing firms an incentive to modify loans in ways that they may have been reluctant to do so far. The guarantee could strengthen the hand of firms in discussion with investors who are upset about modifications.
Earlier this summer, Congress created another program, Hope for Homeowners, that also offers government guarantees, though under different terms. In that plan, servicing firms that willingly write down delinquent loans and pay a premium can have the loan refinanced by new mortgages that are guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. When homeowners eventually sell their homes, they have to share any profits with the government.
In the Senate hearing, Brian D. Montgomery, the F.H.A. commissioner, said that the program started operating on Oct. 1 but added that “it will take time for the lending community to get the program up and running.”
Earlier on Thursday, RealtyTrac, a default-tracking service, reported that foreclosure filings jumped by more than 71 percent in the third quarter, to 765,000, from the period a year earlier. There was a slight dip in filings in September, from August, but the company said that decrease was caused by new laws in some states like California and North Carolina that have delayed the start of some foreclosures. In Massachusetts, which enacted a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures three months earlier, default filings surged in September.
RealtyTrac tracks foreclosures based on court filings in 2,200 counties. Critics have said that multiple court filings on each home inflate its statistics. RealtyTrac says it adjusts its data to account for multiple filings.
At the White House, Mr. Bush’s press secretary, Dana Perino, warned that the country was in for “a rocky road” on “the employment front.” She also said the administration expects next week’s report on third-quarter gross domestic product “not to be a good one, and the next quarter could probably be tough as well.”
The remarks were significant, coming from a White House that has traditionally been reluctant to offer forecasts in advance of reports. But Ms. Perino said she was “just trying to be realistic.”
Sheryl Gay Stolberg contributed reporting.
GUSTAVO TORRES
www.remax-baja.com
1-866-588-2252
Legendary Rosarito Beach Hotel Offers $29 Introductory Rate Through Feb. 12
ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO---The legendary Rosarito Beach Hotel, Baja’s largest and most historic resort, is offering a special $29 rate on standard rooms through Feb 12.
“We’re offering this largely to introduce people to the expanded and refurbished Rosarito Beach Hotel,” said Laura Torres, executive director of the 500-unit beachfront resort about 30 miles south of downtown San Diego.
The rate is the lowest offered since the 1990s, Ms. Torres said. Advance registration is required and availability limited. Fridays, Saturdays, holidays and select blackout days are excluded.
“The $29 rate applies only to standard rooms in our Coronado and Playas towers, but we expect that people will take the opportunity to visit our new Pacifico Tower while here,” Ms. Torres said.
The 271-suite 17-story beachfront Pacifico opened Aug, 2. The tower is a condo-hotel, where people can purchase a unit as well as stay as guests.
The $29 dollar offer, made possible in part by the dollar gaining strength against the peso, also is a way to reward loyal guests and counter some recent bad publicity about Baja.
“Coverage of Mexico’s war against organized crime has made some people worried about security in Baja,” Ms. Torres said. “We hope this offer will help make people aware that Baja remains a safe place for visitors.”
The Rosarito Beach Hotel opened in 1925 and was a popular stop for the Hollywood crowd, with guests including Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Rita Hayworth and Frank Sinatra.
It features two restaurants, a world-class European Spa, and folkloric ballet show on weekends. The resort has a quarter-mile fishing pier and hosted the Mexican surfing championships.
Rosarito Beach is a popular tourist destination which attracts more than a million visitors a year. Its lively downtown, rich in shopping and entertainment, is a short stroll from the hotel.
Attractions including the world-famous Puerto Nuevo lobster village and theme park of Xploration, where Titanic and Master & Commander were filmed, are just a few miles away.
“It’s fresh lobster season and a great time do some early holiday shopping,” Ms. Torres said. “With this $29 offer, there never will be a more affordable time to visit.”
Additional information is available on www.RosaritoBeachHotel.com
GUSTAVO TORRES
www.remax-baja.com
1-866-588-2252
“We’re offering this largely to introduce people to the expanded and refurbished Rosarito Beach Hotel,” said Laura Torres, executive director of the 500-unit beachfront resort about 30 miles south of downtown San Diego.
The rate is the lowest offered since the 1990s, Ms. Torres said. Advance registration is required and availability limited. Fridays, Saturdays, holidays and select blackout days are excluded.
“The $29 rate applies only to standard rooms in our Coronado and Playas towers, but we expect that people will take the opportunity to visit our new Pacifico Tower while here,” Ms. Torres said.
The 271-suite 17-story beachfront Pacifico opened Aug, 2. The tower is a condo-hotel, where people can purchase a unit as well as stay as guests.
The $29 dollar offer, made possible in part by the dollar gaining strength against the peso, also is a way to reward loyal guests and counter some recent bad publicity about Baja.
“Coverage of Mexico’s war against organized crime has made some people worried about security in Baja,” Ms. Torres said. “We hope this offer will help make people aware that Baja remains a safe place for visitors.”
The Rosarito Beach Hotel opened in 1925 and was a popular stop for the Hollywood crowd, with guests including Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Rita Hayworth and Frank Sinatra.
It features two restaurants, a world-class European Spa, and folkloric ballet show on weekends. The resort has a quarter-mile fishing pier and hosted the Mexican surfing championships.
Rosarito Beach is a popular tourist destination which attracts more than a million visitors a year. Its lively downtown, rich in shopping and entertainment, is a short stroll from the hotel.
Attractions including the world-famous Puerto Nuevo lobster village and theme park of Xploration, where Titanic and Master & Commander were filmed, are just a few miles away.
“It’s fresh lobster season and a great time do some early holiday shopping,” Ms. Torres said. “With this $29 offer, there never will be a more affordable time to visit.”
Additional information is available on www.RosaritoBeachHotel.com
GUSTAVO TORRES
www.remax-baja.com
1-866-588-2252
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Mexican Pacific Coast Tourism Project to Outshine Cancún
By Barnard R. Thompson
The Mexican government has announced a major new tourism development
that will stretch along the Pacific Ocean coast of southern Sinaloa –
a project that will ultimately be twice the size of Cancún. A master
planned tourist area to rival not just Cancún, but too the Riviera
Maya that runs along the shores of the Mexican Caribbean.
President Felipe Calderón, with officials from the Mexican
government's National Trust Fund for Tourism Development (Fondo
Nacional de Fomento al Turismo, or Fonatur), made the announcement at
the September 29 opening of the Fonatur sponsored Mexican Real Estate
and Tourism Investment Expo, in Mexico City.
Provisionally called the Pacific Coast Integrally Planned Center,
infrastructure work is scheduled to begin during the first half of
2009, with the final stage of the phased developments to be completed
by 2025. This in much the same way that other Fonatur master planned
seaside resorts, such as Cancún, Los Cabos, Ixtapa, Loreto and the
Bays of Huatulco, have been done.
The 5,884 acre [9.2 square miles] Pacific Coast CIP will be in the
midst of the Sinaloa National Wetlands, in part on the near 5,000
acre Rancho Las Cabras, owned by former Sinaloa governor Antonio
Toledo Corro. The area is 80 miles south of Mazatlán and west of the
Mexico Highway 15 town of Escuinapa, in the municipality of the same
name. On land between the Pacific Ocean and lagoons and marshes
known as the Laguna Agua Grande, the area will include 7.5 miles of
beaches between the villages of Isla del Bosque and Teacapán to the
south on the State of Nayarit border.
The coastal area is well known locally for its beauty and
tranquility. Slightly inland from the coast, the estuaries, lagoons
and mangrove stands are surrounded by palm and tropical flora filled
valleys, with a notable abundance of birds and migratory waterfowl.
Deer, mountain lions and peccary, among other animals, are found in
the area.
And fishing is big in the region, commercial fishing (and shrimp
farming), and of course sportfishing. Several species of protected
sea turtles come to area beaches, and at sea among the many species
found are billfish, humpback whales and white sharks.
Of historical significance, there are large oyster shell mounds near
Teacapán that experts say were harvested by indigenous peoples living
in the area as long as 4,000 years ago.
The investment by the Mexican government is to be around MX$5 billion
pesos [US$465 million as of September 29], according to President
Calderón (who made the announcement before the current worldwide
financial crises came to a head, and the anticipated cutbacks).
Calderón added that the aforementioned Mexican public sector
investment should spark another US$6.638 billion in private national
and international investments.
First stage construction costs will be some MX$1.5 billion [US$139
million as of 9/29], according to a Fonatur executive, that will be
applied to 988 acres. That first phase is scheduled for completion
in 2012.
The President went on to say that the mega-development will
ultimately create 78,000 direct and indirect jobs. He also said
estimates are that the Pacific Coast CIP will attract nearly 3
million tourists by the year 2025, and US$2.8 billion in foreign
exchange.
Once completed the overall complex is to include four golf courses;
two marinas for a total of 1,000 vessels; 44,200 hotel rooms (hotels,
condominiums, etc.); a five mile beachfront walk; and a light
railway. Plus the possibility of a new airport is in the offing (or
the small airport at Teacapán could be expanded).
Based on what has been learned from other CIPs, such as Cancún,
hotels will not be allowed right on the beach. The required buffer
zone will be 300 meters. Hotels will also have a maximum height
limit of four stories.
Urban zones and shopping areas will integrate open space shielded by
law against construction, as will cultural centers and convention
facilities.
Emphasis will be placed on nature and the environment, with 25
percent of the total 5,884 acres dedicated as natural protected
areas, acreage that must be devoid of development. Furthermore, 109
acres of the surrounding wetland environs will be kept intact.
Regarding the lagoon and marsh areas, visitors will be able to enjoy
ecotourism activities via a series of canals and pathways.
As well, Pacific Coast CIP developments will have to meet marine and
land area environmental standards and requisites that are included in
the 2006 Marine Ecological Ordinance of the Gulf of California
Program.
For workers, at least 5,000 homes will be built, along with schools,
hospitals and facilities for needed community services.
Water will be provided through three separate systems, wastewater
treatment plants will be built, and each hotel will have to install
not only rainwater catchment receptacles, but too separate systems
for rain and wastewater drainage and control.
On an interconnected regional basis, highway improvements are planned
for the stretch of Highway 15 from Mazatlán south to Tepic, Nayarit
(and on to Tequila and Guadalajara; or southwest to the Bahía de
Banderas-Compostela Tourist Corridor and Puerto Vallarta). Too, the
road inland from Mazatlán to Durango is to be improved, all arteries
that will give area visitors, among others, easier access to tourist
and cultural sites, neighboring cities, mountain regions,
archeological zones, and indigenous communities.
And finally, for ocean going visitors, the Pacific Coast CIP is to be
in harmony with Fonatur's Sea of Cortez Plan, the system of Transient
Marinas, and the so-called Nautical Staircase.
——————————
Barnard Thompson, editor of MexiData.info, has spent 50 years in
Mexico and Latin America, providing multinational clients with
actionable intelligence; country and political risk reporting and
analysis; and business, lobbying, and problem resolution services
GUSTAVO TORRES
www.remax-baja.com
1-866-588-2252
The Mexican government has announced a major new tourism development
that will stretch along the Pacific Ocean coast of southern Sinaloa –
a project that will ultimately be twice the size of Cancún. A master
planned tourist area to rival not just Cancún, but too the Riviera
Maya that runs along the shores of the Mexican Caribbean.
President Felipe Calderón, with officials from the Mexican
government's National Trust Fund for Tourism Development (Fondo
Nacional de Fomento al Turismo, or Fonatur), made the announcement at
the September 29 opening of the Fonatur sponsored Mexican Real Estate
and Tourism Investment Expo, in Mexico City.
Provisionally called the Pacific Coast Integrally Planned Center,
infrastructure work is scheduled to begin during the first half of
2009, with the final stage of the phased developments to be completed
by 2025. This in much the same way that other Fonatur master planned
seaside resorts, such as Cancún, Los Cabos, Ixtapa, Loreto and the
Bays of Huatulco, have been done.
The 5,884 acre [9.2 square miles] Pacific Coast CIP will be in the
midst of the Sinaloa National Wetlands, in part on the near 5,000
acre Rancho Las Cabras, owned by former Sinaloa governor Antonio
Toledo Corro. The area is 80 miles south of Mazatlán and west of the
Mexico Highway 15 town of Escuinapa, in the municipality of the same
name. On land between the Pacific Ocean and lagoons and marshes
known as the Laguna Agua Grande, the area will include 7.5 miles of
beaches between the villages of Isla del Bosque and Teacapán to the
south on the State of Nayarit border.
The coastal area is well known locally for its beauty and
tranquility. Slightly inland from the coast, the estuaries, lagoons
and mangrove stands are surrounded by palm and tropical flora filled
valleys, with a notable abundance of birds and migratory waterfowl.
Deer, mountain lions and peccary, among other animals, are found in
the area.
And fishing is big in the region, commercial fishing (and shrimp
farming), and of course sportfishing. Several species of protected
sea turtles come to area beaches, and at sea among the many species
found are billfish, humpback whales and white sharks.
Of historical significance, there are large oyster shell mounds near
Teacapán that experts say were harvested by indigenous peoples living
in the area as long as 4,000 years ago.
The investment by the Mexican government is to be around MX$5 billion
pesos [US$465 million as of September 29], according to President
Calderón (who made the announcement before the current worldwide
financial crises came to a head, and the anticipated cutbacks).
Calderón added that the aforementioned Mexican public sector
investment should spark another US$6.638 billion in private national
and international investments.
First stage construction costs will be some MX$1.5 billion [US$139
million as of 9/29], according to a Fonatur executive, that will be
applied to 988 acres. That first phase is scheduled for completion
in 2012.
The President went on to say that the mega-development will
ultimately create 78,000 direct and indirect jobs. He also said
estimates are that the Pacific Coast CIP will attract nearly 3
million tourists by the year 2025, and US$2.8 billion in foreign
exchange.
Once completed the overall complex is to include four golf courses;
two marinas for a total of 1,000 vessels; 44,200 hotel rooms (hotels,
condominiums, etc.); a five mile beachfront walk; and a light
railway. Plus the possibility of a new airport is in the offing (or
the small airport at Teacapán could be expanded).
Based on what has been learned from other CIPs, such as Cancún,
hotels will not be allowed right on the beach. The required buffer
zone will be 300 meters. Hotels will also have a maximum height
limit of four stories.
Urban zones and shopping areas will integrate open space shielded by
law against construction, as will cultural centers and convention
facilities.
Emphasis will be placed on nature and the environment, with 25
percent of the total 5,884 acres dedicated as natural protected
areas, acreage that must be devoid of development. Furthermore, 109
acres of the surrounding wetland environs will be kept intact.
Regarding the lagoon and marsh areas, visitors will be able to enjoy
ecotourism activities via a series of canals and pathways.
As well, Pacific Coast CIP developments will have to meet marine and
land area environmental standards and requisites that are included in
the 2006 Marine Ecological Ordinance of the Gulf of California
Program.
For workers, at least 5,000 homes will be built, along with schools,
hospitals and facilities for needed community services.
Water will be provided through three separate systems, wastewater
treatment plants will be built, and each hotel will have to install
not only rainwater catchment receptacles, but too separate systems
for rain and wastewater drainage and control.
On an interconnected regional basis, highway improvements are planned
for the stretch of Highway 15 from Mazatlán south to Tepic, Nayarit
(and on to Tequila and Guadalajara; or southwest to the Bahía de
Banderas-Compostela Tourist Corridor and Puerto Vallarta). Too, the
road inland from Mazatlán to Durango is to be improved, all arteries
that will give area visitors, among others, easier access to tourist
and cultural sites, neighboring cities, mountain regions,
archeological zones, and indigenous communities.
And finally, for ocean going visitors, the Pacific Coast CIP is to be
in harmony with Fonatur's Sea of Cortez Plan, the system of Transient
Marinas, and the so-called Nautical Staircase.
——————————
Barnard Thompson, editor of MexiData.info, has spent 50 years in
Mexico and Latin America, providing multinational clients with
actionable intelligence; country and political risk reporting and
analysis; and business, lobbying, and problem resolution services
GUSTAVO TORRES
www.remax-baja.com
1-866-588-2252
Monday, October 13, 2008
Baja port 'Punta Colonet' plan making gains
FREIGHT: Mexico has opened bidding on project that would siphon business from Long Beach, L.A.
By Kris Hanson, Staff writer
Article Launched: 10/13/2008 01:00:00 AM PDT
LONG BEACH - Nearly a year after announcing an ambitious plan to tap into the booming flow of trade between the U.S. West Coast and Asia, Mexican authorities have renewed a push to build a massive container port in Baja California.
The $5 billion project, proposed for a natural deep-water harbor near the small west coast fishing village of Punta Colonet about 275 miles south of Los Angeles, may one day compete with Long Beach and Los Angeles for a share of containerized freight.
In August, the Mexican government opened bidding for private development of port terminals and docks, and completed land-use and right-of-way negotiations with landowners in the area. They've also surveyed rail routes leading to the U.S. Southwest, and have organized a consortium of legal experts to help swiftly navigate trade, property and customs regulations.
Then, on Oct. 7, Mexico's Consul General in Los Angeles, Juan Marcos Gutierrez, participated in a panel discussion with port officials from Long Beach and Los Angeles to discuss the effort, and will be meeting with top West Coast port officials again this week at a retreat in Manzanillo, Mexico.
"This is the most ambitious infrastructure project of our time," Gutierrez said during the forum at Cal State Dominguez Hills. "It's something that's needed not only for Mexico, but for the regional economy."
Mexico believes that a port in Colonet would create up to 58,000 permanent jobs in Mexico, help upgrade the country's railway system and would, in turn, provide a cheaper, more efficient freight movement system for U.S. consumers and retailers.
It's expected that more than 95 percent of goods shipped to a Colonet port would be bound for the U.S. market via railway and through border crossings in Yuma, Arizona and El Paso, Texas.
Union Pacific, which controls an existing rail link along the Southwestern U.S. border, has been in talks with Mexico to participate in the project, but no deals have yet been signed.
As for marine terminal development and operation, at least one major international developer has expressed interest. Hutchinson Port Holdings, based in Hong Kong, is believed to be the project's most likely developer, but has yet to commit. Hutchinson could not be reached for comment, but Mexico is offering a 45-year terminal management concession to the highest bidder.
The Punta Colonet project, in the works for more than two years, seeks to capitalize on the estimated 30 million freight containers sent from Asia to North America annually - about 75 percent of which goes through ports in California, Washington and Oregon.
Port would serve U.S. market
Mexico's goal is to capture about 6 million containers annually at Punta Colonet, then ship them via rail to points within the U.S. Very little of the cargo would be destined for Mexico's domestic market, which is served primarily by ports in Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas.
The Baja port is the latest challenge to Long Beach-Los Angeles' longtime role as America's busiest and most lucrative seaport. The twin ports currently handle more than $350 billion worth of cargo annually, a figure representing about 30 percent of the nation's maritime trade worth.
Competition grows
The ports are already being challenged by a new container port in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, expansions in Tacoma, Washington and Oakland, California and a modernized Hampton Roads in southeast Virginia. In addition, the expansion of the Panama Canal - now under way - allows passage for larger container ships from Asia to ports in the Gulf.
But there remain cost and time-prohibitive barriers for sending Asia-originated freight through the Panama Canal. It takes an average 21 days to ship cargo from China to the U.S. East Coast, but only 12 to the West Coast. With high energy costs, the extra nine days at sea makes much such trade prohibitive.
By building an alternative western port and offering cheaper labor and less costly tariffs, Mexico hopes to lure shippers whose goods would have passed through California or the Panama Canal and destined for the American Midwest.
"The market we're (trying for) is east of the Rockies," said Gutierrez. "It's a share of that 45 percent or so of freight that (Long Beach-Los Angeles) carry that is headed inland."
Professor Kaye Bragg, a Cal State Dominguez Hills economics professor, said the Punta Colonet proposal only makes sense if projections of growth are on the mark. Based on 20-year trends, economists expect the volume of containerized goods between Asia and Long Beach-Los Angeles to surpass 36 million 24-equivalent containers, or TEUs, by 2020.
Therefore, if Punta Colonet siphons six million TEUs from Long Beach-Los Angeles, it represents only a share of future growth, and not a chunk of current volume - potentially making competition less hostile and more collaborative.
Don Snyder, the Long Beach port's trade relations director, said that although labor costs and regulatory pressures will likely be less in Mexico, developers will need to recoup their investment costs, which may drive up transportation and dockage prices to levels comparable in Southern California.
"Someone's going to have to amortize the cost of building that rail track, building those terminals, building the infrastructure," Snyder said. "When you add those costs in, plus the transportation costs of using U.S. rail inside the States, is there a great savings?"
Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Mario Cordero, who visits Mexico this week to discuss regional trade, says projects like Punta Colonet represent the competitive realities of global trade.
"Everybody is developing megaports ... you see it in Asia, Europe, South America," Cordero said. "People are looking for their share. The difference this time is we have a big project being developed next door."
Snyder sees it as a stimulus to continue improving local port facilities and transportation links.
"Competition is a good thing because it keeps everyone sharp," Snyder said. "Our goal is to have the most efficient supply chain and be a leader in terms of helping introduce technologies that save fuel, pollute less and make the most economic sense for our customers."
Gustavo Torres
gustavotorres@remax.net
1-866-588-2252
www.remax-baja.com
By Kris Hanson, Staff writer
Article Launched: 10/13/2008 01:00:00 AM PDT
LONG BEACH - Nearly a year after announcing an ambitious plan to tap into the booming flow of trade between the U.S. West Coast and Asia, Mexican authorities have renewed a push to build a massive container port in Baja California.
The $5 billion project, proposed for a natural deep-water harbor near the small west coast fishing village of Punta Colonet about 275 miles south of Los Angeles, may one day compete with Long Beach and Los Angeles for a share of containerized freight.
In August, the Mexican government opened bidding for private development of port terminals and docks, and completed land-use and right-of-way negotiations with landowners in the area. They've also surveyed rail routes leading to the U.S. Southwest, and have organized a consortium of legal experts to help swiftly navigate trade, property and customs regulations.
Then, on Oct. 7, Mexico's Consul General in Los Angeles, Juan Marcos Gutierrez, participated in a panel discussion with port officials from Long Beach and Los Angeles to discuss the effort, and will be meeting with top West Coast port officials again this week at a retreat in Manzanillo, Mexico.
"This is the most ambitious infrastructure project of our time," Gutierrez said during the forum at Cal State Dominguez Hills. "It's something that's needed not only for Mexico, but for the regional economy."
Mexico believes that a port in Colonet would create up to 58,000 permanent jobs in Mexico, help upgrade the country's railway system and would, in turn, provide a cheaper, more efficient freight movement system for U.S. consumers and retailers.
It's expected that more than 95 percent of goods shipped to a Colonet port would be bound for the U.S. market via railway and through border crossings in Yuma, Arizona and El Paso, Texas.
Union Pacific, which controls an existing rail link along the Southwestern U.S. border, has been in talks with Mexico to participate in the project, but no deals have yet been signed.
As for marine terminal development and operation, at least one major international developer has expressed interest. Hutchinson Port Holdings, based in Hong Kong, is believed to be the project's most likely developer, but has yet to commit. Hutchinson could not be reached for comment, but Mexico is offering a 45-year terminal management concession to the highest bidder.
The Punta Colonet project, in the works for more than two years, seeks to capitalize on the estimated 30 million freight containers sent from Asia to North America annually - about 75 percent of which goes through ports in California, Washington and Oregon.
Port would serve U.S. market
Mexico's goal is to capture about 6 million containers annually at Punta Colonet, then ship them via rail to points within the U.S. Very little of the cargo would be destined for Mexico's domestic market, which is served primarily by ports in Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas.
The Baja port is the latest challenge to Long Beach-Los Angeles' longtime role as America's busiest and most lucrative seaport. The twin ports currently handle more than $350 billion worth of cargo annually, a figure representing about 30 percent of the nation's maritime trade worth.
Competition grows
The ports are already being challenged by a new container port in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, expansions in Tacoma, Washington and Oakland, California and a modernized Hampton Roads in southeast Virginia. In addition, the expansion of the Panama Canal - now under way - allows passage for larger container ships from Asia to ports in the Gulf.
But there remain cost and time-prohibitive barriers for sending Asia-originated freight through the Panama Canal. It takes an average 21 days to ship cargo from China to the U.S. East Coast, but only 12 to the West Coast. With high energy costs, the extra nine days at sea makes much such trade prohibitive.
By building an alternative western port and offering cheaper labor and less costly tariffs, Mexico hopes to lure shippers whose goods would have passed through California or the Panama Canal and destined for the American Midwest.
"The market we're (trying for) is east of the Rockies," said Gutierrez. "It's a share of that 45 percent or so of freight that (Long Beach-Los Angeles) carry that is headed inland."
Professor Kaye Bragg, a Cal State Dominguez Hills economics professor, said the Punta Colonet proposal only makes sense if projections of growth are on the mark. Based on 20-year trends, economists expect the volume of containerized goods between Asia and Long Beach-Los Angeles to surpass 36 million 24-equivalent containers, or TEUs, by 2020.
Therefore, if Punta Colonet siphons six million TEUs from Long Beach-Los Angeles, it represents only a share of future growth, and not a chunk of current volume - potentially making competition less hostile and more collaborative.
Don Snyder, the Long Beach port's trade relations director, said that although labor costs and regulatory pressures will likely be less in Mexico, developers will need to recoup their investment costs, which may drive up transportation and dockage prices to levels comparable in Southern California.
"Someone's going to have to amortize the cost of building that rail track, building those terminals, building the infrastructure," Snyder said. "When you add those costs in, plus the transportation costs of using U.S. rail inside the States, is there a great savings?"
Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Mario Cordero, who visits Mexico this week to discuss regional trade, says projects like Punta Colonet represent the competitive realities of global trade.
"Everybody is developing megaports ... you see it in Asia, Europe, South America," Cordero said. "People are looking for their share. The difference this time is we have a big project being developed next door."
Snyder sees it as a stimulus to continue improving local port facilities and transportation links.
"Competition is a good thing because it keeps everyone sharp," Snyder said. "Our goal is to have the most efficient supply chain and be a leader in terms of helping introduce technologies that save fuel, pollute less and make the most economic sense for our customers."
Gustavo Torres
gustavotorres@remax.net
1-866-588-2252
www.remax-baja.com
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Flow to river channel to drop; irrigation uses seen
By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 26, 2008
TIJUANA – It sits on a hillside miles from San Diego, rising above tightly packed colonias in Tijuana's fast-growing eastern end. Despite its distance from the border, the new Monte de Los Olivos sewage treatment plant has been drawing applause in California.
Expected to begin operation within a month, the $9 million plant will at full capacity treat the waste of some 265,000 residents to a tertiary level, clean enough for irrigation. Together with a smaller but similar plant, La Morita, set to open this year, Monte de Los Olivos will dramatically decrease the flow of untreated sewage down the Tijuana River channel that leads to the border.
The operation of the two plants also will relieve Tijuana's main sewage treatment plant, the over-burdened Punta Bandera facility south of Playas de Tijuana. By the middle of next year, officials hope the operation of the new plants will largely eliminate the coastal discharges of untreated sewage at Punta Bandera.
“This project puts Baja California at the vanguard of sewage treatment in Mexico,” Baja California Gov. José Guadalupe Osuna Millán told a crowd of more than 300 gathered for yesterday's inauguration ceremony at Monte de los Olivos.
The plant's opening marks the first step in an ambitious state-led reclamation project for Tijuana that will take years to develop. The city's 1.4 million residents look to piped-in water from the Colorado River to meet more than 90 percent of their water needs, and the state has been hard-pressed to expand the region's supply.
By using treated water for irrigation and industry, the state hopes to save the Colorado River water for residential and commercial purposes. But before they can proceed, they need to build a network of pipes to deliver the reclaimed water, and find enough users.
No one disputes that the plants at Monte de los Olivos and La Morita, which will treat sewage in the Tijuana River watershed, represent a major step forward for the city. Financing for the two plants, along with a third scheduled to open next year in southern Tijuana, is through a low-interest loan from the Japanese government and Mexico's federal government. The builder is a Mexico City-based company named Fypasa.
Initially, only 10 percent of Monte de los Olivos' output capacity will be used for reclamation, said Hernando Duran, head of the state public service commission in Tijuana, known as CESPT. The state is setting up a system that will pipe any of the unused treated effluent for discharge into the Pacific Ocean south of Punta Bandera.
“While the system is designed, it's not fully ready,” Romo said. “Overall, it's a very good sign, but people should not expect results by tomorrow.”
Within four years, Duran said the hope is to be using at least three-fourths of Monte de los Olivos' capacity in reclamation projects. Beyond that, the state is also studying the possibility of piping some of the reclaimed water to a point above Tijuana's RodrNguez Dam, allowing it to filter through into the reservoir.
“They deserve a huge amount of credit for what they've done,” said Bart Christensen, senior engineer with California's State Water Resources Control Board, and his agency's border coordinator. “They have the same goals as San Diego, but they don't have the resources San Diego has. They have to be really creative to get their infrastructure implemented in Tijuana. This really demonstrates Mexico's commitment to addressing their own waste water infrastructure needs.”
Despite progress, Tijuana's sewage flow continues to exceed the city's treatment capacity. Cross-border sewage spills have for decades been a contentious issue, as incidents in the Tijuana River basin are likely to be felt across the border in the Tijuana River estuary in Imperial Beach. Though dry weather flows have largely been eliminated, cross-border sewage flows during wet weather continue to shut down South Bay beaches.
Monte de los Olivos “is a critical facility that's necessary to meet Tijuana's waste water treatment needs today and in the future,” said Su Cox, an environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has been working closely with CESPT on a plan to connect an additional 34,000 residents in eastern Tijuana to the sewer system.
“The thing that's great about this is that it addresses environmental health and public health needs on both sides of the border.”
Highlights
Cost: The $9 million Monte de los Olivos plant will treat sewage from about 265,000 residents in eastern Tijuana.
Irrigation: The plant launches a major reuse project for Tijuana, and officials are installing pipes to distribute the water to green areas. Most of the flow will initially be discharged into the ocean.
Coastal discharge: The plant provides relief for the overburdened coastal Punta Bandera plant. Together with future La Morita plant and new sewage collection projects, the coastal discharge of untreated sewage from the Punta Bandera plant is near an end.
Cross-border: Cross-border sewage flows in wet weather will continue, but the concentration of sewage in those flows is expected to decrease.
Other projects: A third sewage treatment plant in southern Tijuana, a desalination plant in Ensenada that will produce 5.7 million gallons of water a day, and expansion of the Colorado River aqueduct.
www.bajainvestment.com
Mexico emerges as popular property investment for Canadians
Written by Property Wire
Thursday, 02 October 2008
Canadian property investors are increasingly investing in Mexico as they regard the US market as not a good prospect at the moment.
An increase in the number of flights from Canada to Mexico and a desire to avoid the volatility of the US market means more are buying second homes and investment properties further afield.
One investor, Doug Walker, had considered buying in Hawaii and the Caribbean. He wanted a holiday home to which he and his wife could eventually retire. 'We were looking for something special but we also wanted to make a good investment,' he said.
He has now bought a home overlooking the Sea of Cortez and the 18th hole of a private golf club on Mexico's western coast.
Walker is not the only Canadian looking to Mexico for a good investment. According to Alfonso Sumano, the Mexican Tourism Board's regional director for Canada, more and more Canadians are holidaying in Mexico and then deciding to invest.
This year flights arriving in Mexico increased by 9.2% and this has made Mexico an easy destination to reach and boosted interest.
'Canadians can leave home in the morning and be on the beach by lunchtime,' said Sumano. Although he could not provide any official statistics for the number of Canadians buying property in Mexico, he said the number had increased substantially.
At Querencia, the luxury gated community where Walker has invested, about 10% are owned by Canadians. Jorge Carrera, president and chief executive officer of Querencia, said he has seen an increase in interest from Canadians.
'My last five buyers have been Canadians. We haven't really targeted them but with the interest we are getting, we are looking to attract more Canadians,' he added.
He reckons that the strong Canadian dollar, low property taxes – just 0.25% of a property's assessed value – and a very low cost of living make Mexico an attractive location for property investors.
www.bajainvestment.com
Tiger Woods finds a way to keep busy
Since he can't play on a golf course right now, he's trying to design one instead.
Bill Dwyre
October 8, 2008
Tiger Woods had a circular stick in his hand in Southern California again Tuesday and waggled it confidently as he stood over a golf course.
It is not what you think. Tiger is not back, not quite yet.
The knee injury that will be forever etched in our memory as the focal point of his courageous and dramatic playoff victory on that Monday in June at Torrey Pines is still healing. He said his timetable for returning to the PGA Tour is still uncertain. He had surgery shortly after the U.S. Open.
"I can walk, the knee is good, we are right on schedule," he said. "There is no pain, and the work is on strength and mobility."
Well, no pain until the daily rehabilitation begins.
"Oh, man."
He rolled his eyes as he spoke.
"There is lots of work, hours a day. Man."
But it is the very nature of Eldrick Woods to be a tiger about staying busy, even while doctors are keeping him off the golf course. That's why he was here Tuesday. This was Tiger Woods, designer, rather than Tiger Woods, best golfer in the universe.
In a fancy room at a swank hotel -- the room filled with investment, developer and public relations types all dressed elegantly and a scattering of the opposite (also known as the media) -- Woods announced details about his part-time job.
He has designed a golf course on a spectacular piece of land along the Pacific Ocean, just south of Ensenada and about 70 miles south of San Diego. It is called Punta Brava (Wild Point), and is a $100-million project financed by entrepreneur and former NFL and NBA owner Red McCombs.
McCombs, in attendance, said, "When this was brought to me, I wasn't especially turned on. Then, they told me there was a good chance that Tiger would be involved. I said, forget it. It's over. I'm in."
Woods took a display pointer, stood next to an artist's rendering of a proposed Punta Brava, to be completed in about three years, and described something that sounded like it could eventually become the Pebble Beach of Mexico. Pebble Beach of California, of course, is public. Punta Brava will not be.
Woods talked about the elevation on the seven-mile peninsula that dropped from a 1,200-foot mountain to 300-foot ledges for villas and homes that overlook a golf course near sea level. That course, Woods said, will have an ocean view from every tee, fairway and green.
"Now, if you go and hit it in the bushes or the junk," he said, "maybe not."
He said that 12 of the tees or greens are right on the water, that tee shots on eight of the holes will necessitate hitting over water, and No. 18, a Pebble-Beach-like par five dog-legging left with the ocean on the left, may not be as difficult as it looks.
"Some of you will reach it in two," he said, looking away from the media people.
After they had run a video, showing Tiger standing on top of the 1,200-foot mountain and looking out to the ocean, and had finished the description, it was hard not to dash to the sign-up line for a villa. One unconfirmed rumor had several AIG executives, now with more time on their hands than Tiger, set to buy.
Designer Woods said he has purposely gone slowly in this aspect of his career.
"I told myself I would play on every continent before I started designing," he said. "I guess I have missed the Antarctica Four Ball, but otherwise, I've done it.
"I felt I owed that to myself and to the people who will play the courses to have as much experience as I can. I've talked to all the people who have done this. I've learned a lot, thought a lot about it, used the experiences I've had as a player.
"That's why Jack is so successful [at course design]. He was a cerebral player."
Player Woods said the doctors won't let him start swinging the club until January.
"I can't rotate the knee until then," he said, adding that his ideal would be to play one or two events before the Masters in mid-April.
"You just can't tell, once you start back, about things like swelling and soreness," he said. "That can set you back."
Once he gets back, there is little question that we will see more of the same fire and grit he used to fight his way down those Torrey Pines fairways that June Monday afternoon.
"I was supposed to go to Mexico on a site visit for this that day," he said, "But I was busy."
Indeed. Rocco Mediate and millions more remember.
www.bajainvestment.com
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Mexico Tourism Indicators Up for the First Half of 2008
Posted on September 30, 2008
By: Lisa Coleman
Mexico is a survivor. It seems as much as the U.S. wants to focus on the bad, people still seem to see the good. Despite the steady stream of negative press, the tourists still come, the hotels still thrive, and more and more, people are considering a permanent move south of the border. For those of us who love and understand this amazing country, it’s a constant struggle against the media. They drudge through the daily public drug wars, the poverty, and mold a perception. Still Mexico pushes forward. They are fighting for their image, and for the life blood that is tourism.
It’s no secret things have been rough for Mexico in the last year. The media has made sure you heard it all. Well, I’ve got some good news to share…. people are still coming to Mexico. And the numbers prove the point.
In the first seven months of the year, Mexico received $8.475 million dollars in foreign currency, which signified a 6.3 percent increase compared to the same period in 2007.
• Almost 14 million tourists entered the country, an increase of 5.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
• As of July 2008, the country registered a total of 2.234 million workers in the tourism industry, which represents a 2.3 percent higher rate than the one registered in the same month in 2007.
During the first seven months of the year, there was an influx of $8.475 million dollars from the spending of foreign tourists, which signified a 6.3 percent increase compared to the same period in 2007, informed Rodolfo Elizondo Torres, Secretary of Tourism of Mexico (SECTUR).
According to the most recent data from the Bank of Mexico’s International Visitor Count, Secretary Elizondo said, in the January-July 2008 period, the country received 13.620 million tourists, a quantity that represented a 5.2 percent increase compared to the same period in 2007.
Likewise, the head of SECTUR said that the average spending of tourists who traveled further than the border - those who have the longest stays and greater spending - was of $788 dollars per trip, which represents an increase of 3.8 percent from 2007.
Secretary Elizondo emphasized the airline industry transported 26.5 million passengers between January and July 2008, 6.1 percent more than in 2007.
So there you have it… My sombrero is off to everyone involved with the tourism industry!
www.bajainvestment.com
By: Lisa Coleman
Mexico is a survivor. It seems as much as the U.S. wants to focus on the bad, people still seem to see the good. Despite the steady stream of negative press, the tourists still come, the hotels still thrive, and more and more, people are considering a permanent move south of the border. For those of us who love and understand this amazing country, it’s a constant struggle against the media. They drudge through the daily public drug wars, the poverty, and mold a perception. Still Mexico pushes forward. They are fighting for their image, and for the life blood that is tourism.
It’s no secret things have been rough for Mexico in the last year. The media has made sure you heard it all. Well, I’ve got some good news to share…. people are still coming to Mexico. And the numbers prove the point.
In the first seven months of the year, Mexico received $8.475 million dollars in foreign currency, which signified a 6.3 percent increase compared to the same period in 2007.
• Almost 14 million tourists entered the country, an increase of 5.2 percent compared to the same period last year.
• As of July 2008, the country registered a total of 2.234 million workers in the tourism industry, which represents a 2.3 percent higher rate than the one registered in the same month in 2007.
During the first seven months of the year, there was an influx of $8.475 million dollars from the spending of foreign tourists, which signified a 6.3 percent increase compared to the same period in 2007, informed Rodolfo Elizondo Torres, Secretary of Tourism of Mexico (SECTUR).
According to the most recent data from the Bank of Mexico’s International Visitor Count, Secretary Elizondo said, in the January-July 2008 period, the country received 13.620 million tourists, a quantity that represented a 5.2 percent increase compared to the same period in 2007.
Likewise, the head of SECTUR said that the average spending of tourists who traveled further than the border - those who have the longest stays and greater spending - was of $788 dollars per trip, which represents an increase of 3.8 percent from 2007.
Secretary Elizondo emphasized the airline industry transported 26.5 million passengers between January and July 2008, 6.1 percent more than in 2007.
So there you have it… My sombrero is off to everyone involved with the tourism industry!
www.bajainvestment.com
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