Tourism problem notwithstanding imposing visas to Mexicans was the right thing to do

I hope not and I will do everything I can to avoid it, but Canada's imposing visa restrictions on Mexico could possibly sink my business. However, the measure did not take completely by surprise. I knew it was coming when I learned months ago that Mexicans took over the #1 spot as refugee claimants. And this was when claims were in the 5,000 range. Now there are over 9,000 in the pipeline. I even wrote a note in my recent email newsletter warning my Mexican readers that this visa requirement was likely to happen in the next several months. What I did not expect was for it to happen in the summer. The government should have done this back in January, one of the slowest months for Mexican tourism to Canada. That way we would all have had time to adjust and travellers could have had the time to apply for visas.
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Having said this, I do think the goverment did the right thing. While sadly many Mexicans are in dire straits and some may very well qualify for refugee status, the truth is the majoriy of the claims are bogus and just bogs down the system and it costs us taxpayers a lot of money.
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So let's be positive and rededicate ourselves to good marketing. Let's not forget that more than six million Mexicans have multiple year, multiple entry visas to enter the United States so applying for visas is not new to them. The immediate challenge however will be for the Canadian Embassy in Mexico to deal with thousands and thousands of visitors visas in the next week or so. The way this is handled may help or hinder Canada's image and could turn people off to Canada. However, overtime we'll recover. And while the numbers will drop dramatically in the short term, there's no reason why we can't get back to the 1/4. Million visitors from Mexico in one to three years provided we do the right creative marketing. And there's another plus. Mexican tourists in the future should higher yield, higher spend visitors. I just hope my business can get over this immediate crisis.
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Happy travels,
Jaime Horwitz
www.canadaenespanol.ca