Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Tourism minister knocking on US doors to promote opportunities in Mexico

Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco traveled to the United States this week to promote the Mexican tourism industry in the sector’s largest source market.

Accompanied by 10 state tourism ministers and executives of three Mexican airlines, Torruco spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Los Angeles, where he met tourism sector representatives, business leaders and investors.

At one event, the federal minister spoke about the Maya Train railroad project, the potential of the Islas Marías as a tourism destination and the development of the Huasteca Potosina region of San Luis Potosí, according to a report by the tourism news website Inversión Turística.

Among the attendees at the Así es México (This is Mexico) seminar were representatives of tourism associations, executives from airlines including Delta, American Airlines and United, travel agents and tour operators.

Torruco also met with California-based consul generals with whom he discussed ways to reactivate Mexico’s tourism sector, which had its worst year in living memory in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The dinner at the official residence of Mexico’s consul general in Los Angeles was also attended by tourism sector entrepreneurs.

Islas Marias, Mexico
Torruco spoke at one meeting of the potential of the Islas Marías as a vacation spot for American tourists.

“The great connection with the state of California makes it the No. 1 market in the United States for travelers to Mexico,” Torruco said at the event.

The L.A. sojourn was the first of three visits the tourism minister will make to the United States as part of a tourism promotion strategy called operación toca puertas, or the knocking on doors operation.

Torruco will visit Chicago and New York during a four-day trip in October and Houston and San Antonio during a trip of the same length in November.

The company Global Publishing Strategies is organizing the trips at a cost of 4 million pesos (US $200,000) to the federal government. Before departing for Los Angeles, Torruco predicted that his visit would be “very productive.”

The Tourism Promotion Council was previously responsible for tourism promotion abroad, but it was disbanded by the current government.

Tourism contributes about 9% of Mexico’s GDP and directly employs more than 4 million Mexicans. Millions of United States citizens visit Mexico annually, bringing billions of dollars into the country.

With reports from El Economista and Inversión Turística 

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Street protest with US flags

Mexicans’ opinion of the United States has soured drastically since Trump took office

20
A recent Pew survey found that just 29% of Mexicans polled had a favorable opinion of the United States, the sharpest drop observed in any of the 24 countries Pew surveyed this year. 
Ovidio Guzmán

Sinaloa Cartel leader Ovidio Guzmán pleads guilty to drug trafficking and organized crime charges in the US

3
Guzmán also admitted to overseeing the production and smuggling of fentanyl and other drugs as part of his plea deal.
Salinas, California, USA - June 19, 2015: Immigrant (migrant) seasonal farm (field) workers pick and package strawberries directly into boxes in the Salinas Valley of central California

Sheinbaum promises more resources for consulates after ‘unjust’ ICE raids in California

24
The military-style immigration raids on two California farms on Thursday drew sharp criticism and a pledge to action from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity