Real tourists
There has been a 19.2% increase in foreign visitors to Mexico from January to August of this year compared to the same period in 2009 according to data released this month by Mexican tourism officials. The State Department may have issued travel advisories in March yet over 4.3 million of the 7.1 million foreign travelers in the first eight months this year came from the U.S.
As Erwin explains in his post, the bulk of the increase has been to our coastal resorts, and tourists are still shunning the bulk of the country — which is probably a welcome change to those who insist there’s a “real Mexico” if one gets “off the beaten track”. Not that there is an “off the beaten track” anywhere in Mexico and Mexicans living on the coasts are real Mexicans whose lives are really Mexican, in the real Mexico.
Really.
mexfiles.net 
I dunno Rich. Some would say Tepito is off the beaten track. But maybe it’s the track to take to get beaten. Or worse. Tough call!
I understand why some people refer to Mexicans who don’t live in Cancun as real Mexicans. One can get tired of being seen as a walking dollar sign…
Good to see the walking dollar sign people coming back though. And may the majority of them stay in the ‘non-real Mexico’ and leave the ‘real’ Mexico to me. 🙂
Living in one of those seaside resorts now (and a former resident of Santa María la Ribera — AND … for a few weeks… Tepito), hard to say that those of my neighbors working for the Yankee dollar are any different than anyone living along the slightly less-travelled roads of the the many Mexicos.
I know Rich, I was just being a little facetious. 🙂
Well, we could certainly use a few ‘walking dollar signs’ in San Miguel;
I haven’t sold a backpack in weeks, and all the local bars and eateries are failing.
(the “rentistas” here seem to eat at home mostly, never going out or ordering a drink..
but you gotta go out once in a while and support your local.. blah, blah, blah…)
*sounds of tumbleweeds*
Even the upcoming TED conference has a budget of .. ten dollars?
sr
Steve,
I really liked your bags. If you want I could write up a post about them on my blog and point anyone who stumbles by in your direction. I’m far from convinced I can really get you any sales, but if the current rate is zero, then there’s not a lot to lose! It’d be a fun post anyway.
Email me if you’re up for it. Failing that, do you ever bring them down to DF to sell? They’d be popular on the Alvaro Obregon weekend street market, I’m sure.
I would guess that Michoacan is not a tourist hot spot right now, though we may be going there this winter, but not for sure yet.
We actually did go to Michoacan in March and April of 2011 and it was fine, though we did hear some horror stories from earlier. Like in December of 2010 it was many more problems. Slight improvement.