An initiative that will offer eight-day tours around individual Mexican states has the backing of state tourism secretaries, according to the president of the Mexican Association of Travel Agencies (AMAV).

Eduardo Paniagua Morales said that the “Journey Across Mexico in Eight Days” project will be officially launched at the 2020 Tianguis Turístico, an annual tourism industry event that will be held March 22-25 in Mérida, Yucatán.

The initiative, which is being developed by the AMAV, will offer at least 15 eight-day tours featuring 24 “experiences” in each participating state, he said.

Paniagua said that the tourism secretary of Tabasco, which will be the first state to offer the tours, as well as those in Chihuahua and Coahuila have indicated that they are practically ready to support the project.

The Tamaulipas tourism secretary has invited AMAV tour operators to visit that state to identify destinations that can be included, he added.

The AMAV chief also said that tours are being prepared for Quintana Roo, explaining that buses will leave the Chetumal airport twice weekly to transport tourists to destinations including Bacalar, Mahahual, the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, Tulum and Cobá lagoon. A single tour in Quintana Roo will generate an economic spillover of 378,000 pesos (US $20,250), Paniagua said.

He said the AMAV plans to gradually include more states in the program and that meetings with the tourism secretaries of Nuevo León, Oaxaca and Zacatecas have been held to that end.

The aim of the initiative, Paniagua said, is to offer new products to tourists and generate business for hotel owners, tour guides and others who work in the tourism sector. At a national level, the program is estimated to benefit the tourism sector to the tune of 450 million pesos annually, he said.

All state tours developed by AMAV will be listed on the association’s website (Spanish only).

Source: El Economista (sp)