| | |  Travel & Outdoors | May 2009 
Mexico Events are Important to Tourism
 George Puckett - mexico-myspace.com
 |  | Not everyone knows that Carnaval in Mazatlan is second only to the one in Rio de Janeiro, or that September in San Miguel de Allende means a month of festivals of all types. |  | | |
My wife and I took our first trip to Mexico about 16 years ago. We live in Tucson, Arizona, so we can go to South Tucson to experience the flavor of Mexico or, we used to drive south to Nogales, about a two hour trip.
However, when you get away from the border towns and the American influence you find a different Mexico. Even in the tourist cities like Mazatlan, there is a real Mexico to be discovered not too many blocks from the tourist areas.
On one visit we spent 3 weeks in Mazatlan. We met many locals, Mexican Nationals and Americans. At one point we did Missionary work with a local Church group.
Now I'm reading and seeing news reports that tourism is down all over Mexico. No area is exempt. We all know what or who the culprits are. There are three major ones; the troubled American economy, the drug wars and the Swine Flu scare. The Swine Flu was the final nail driven into the coffin of Tourism. Dealing with these three culprits in concert is a hard battle to fight.
Mexico is very dependent on the tourist industry. Income from this area is second only to that generated by oil production.
How much is the drop in tourism affecting Realtors and Real Estate sales in your area? Is your home or a neighbor's home up for sale?
If you could do something to help increase the tourism in your area, would you? Of course you would. Most expatriates would. When tourism is at a normal level, many of your Mexican neighbors enjoy a greater income. The decrease in tourist income could lead to some negative consequences for expatriates. I don't feel that I need to get into the dark side of the loss of tourist dollars and what that could mean for your area.
How can you help?
Let's use the Senator Obama method. I call it that because he used this method very successfully to raise campaign funds. Let's use the power of the Internet. We can post events in the Yahoo groups where we have membership. I'm not just speaking of events put on by the Expatriate Community. Some of these events draw huge numbers of people like the SCORE off-road races in Baja and the bicycle race from Rosarito Beach to Ensenada
Many people plan their visits or would plan their visits to coincide with major local events. Not everyone knows that Carnaval in Mazatlan is second only to the one in Rio de Janeiro. September in San Miguel de Allende means a month of festivals of all types.
San Miguel is not alone with its festivals. There are festivals for all seasons and reasons all over Mexico. If you live in Oaxaca City or La Paz or Huatulco or Alamos, then you know when those festivals are being held. Promote them.
But how?
Do you have a Facebook, My Space, Twitter or Mexico-My Space Account? You should post your local events on these and similar Social Networking Websites. How much exposure would an event receive if it were promoted on these sites by several thousand people?
Take a look at websites and blogs like Kats Korner, Experience San Miguel de Allende, Mexico-MySpace.com, Inside Mexico, BanderasNews, Mother Laura's Blogspot, Baja Sundog and Mexico Mystic.
If you can't promote the events, then promote the website that promotes the events. These are only a few; you can use Google and find millions.
Finally, there are plenty of Yahoo Groups that are Mexico Specific. These can be found by going to tinyurl.com. There is a long list of Yahoo Groups focusing on Mexico.
Do you have any unique ways of promoting tourism in Mexico? If so, join a Yahoo Mexico Group and post it or email me at epgeorge1(at)yahoo.com.
George Puckett and his wife Tina retired to Ensenada for 7 years. He wrote a book about those years entitled "Baja Diaries - Chronicles of a Paradise Lost." He is also the founder of the Social Networking website, Mexico-MySpace.com.
 Delivering 'round-the-clock activities and a multitude of events and festivals for all seasons and all reasons, Mexico is ideal for those looking for a fun-filled vacation. Let us know about upcoming events or seasonal festivals anywhere in Mexico and we'll post them on BanderasNews, free, for the world to see! Email us at Events(at)BanderasNews.com |
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