Canada top of mind among Mexican travellers, but less competitive.

"The spirit is willing, but the wallet may be weaker. That’s the message from the latest Global Tourism Watch report for Mexico, released by the Research department of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC). Canada boosted its performance on a number of unaided indicators in 2008, making it the No. 1 destination brand in Mexico in those criteria: destination awareness, advertising awareness and destination consideration." CTC

The Canadian Tourism Commission conducted the survey for its latest report on Mexico in 2008 so the effects of the Global Recession, the H1N1 scare, and mostly Canada's visa imposition do not show in the results. What I have observed in the last several months via my network of websites, my tour operator client in Mexico and the continuing growth of the CanadAmigos Social Networking site where I have direct contact with a large number of people is that Canada is still a desirable destination for Mexicans, albeit a more expensive one. One of the byproducts of the visa imposition to Mexicans is that their travel to Canada went up in cost anywhere from 5% to 10% or more (short term visits like a long weekend escape may not be worth their while now). This has to do with the cost of obtaining a tourist visa (temporary resident). A single entry visa costs CAD $75 per person (multiple entry visas cost $150 per person). If a couple buys a package that cost them $1,100 per person before the visa, they now have to pay 6.8% more for the same package (not counting any courier costs, etc.) While many people were able to switch dates for their trips to Canada the first week after the imposition (July 15th), I know that many changed their plans and chose to go to the States instead. At the present time, Canada has become less competitive in Mexico vis a vis the US and other destinations like Spain and South America.

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Jaime