Mexico’s President, Felipe Calder贸n, rung in the New Year by declaring 2011 to be the year of Mexican Tourism. Just a few weeks later, he embarked on a tour of his country with CBS Travel Correspondent, Peter Greenberg, to showcase the safety and rich travel opportunities in Mexico.
Greenberg, one of the most influential figures in international travel, has traveled several countries with their heads of state and has dubbed the trips a “Royal Tour.” Previous Royal Tours have taken Greenberg through Jordan, New Zealand, Peru and Jamaica – each resulting in a significant increase in tourism to the country.
Details and reports from the tour have yet to be released, however, along for much of the tour was Arnie Weissmann of Travel Weekly who has reported in his article titled President Felip Calder贸n, Tour Guide that he was impressed by “how fortunate the U.S. is to have a country as interesting, as rich in unique attractions and with such warm people so nearby to us [in the US].” Weissmann went on to say, “I was struck by how all that I saw was so completely disassociated from the media reports of sporadic violence that keeps some Americans from going there,” illustrating the importance of fact checking and contextualizing the sensationalized reports that have been flooding out of the US Media over the past few years.
Between the obvious commitment of President Calder贸n, the dedicated work of Minister of Tourism, Gloria Guevara, and the encouragement of trusted figures in travel like Peter Greenberg, Mexico seems ready to live up to Calder贸n’s declaration and take its seat atop the list of international travel destinations for 2011.