The president and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Julia Simpson, described as intolerable the new rates that the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) will charge to airlines and passengers starting in January.
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Last week, the Secretary of the Navy reported that starting next year the cost of airport services for airlines will increase by 77 percent on average, in addition to the Airport Use Fee (TUA), which represents up to 60 percent. of the cost of a plane ticket for users, will have an increase of 3.24 percent.
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In a virtual conference, the WTTC board maintained that these measures represent a brake on tourist activity.
“The taxes, the rates imposed by governments not only in Mexico but worldwide, are very susceptible and lack vision because the only thing they do is stop the growth of tourism and travelers (…) These rates are intolerable” Simpson said.
The Secretary of the Navy, which this year took full control of the capital terminal, justified the increases in the costs of airport services by indicating that they had not been updated since February 2010.
The president of the WTTC stressed that these increases in rates do not necessarily reflect benefits for the sector since many go to the federation’s income and are allocated to other items.
Regarding the cut in AICM operations as of January 8, Simpson warned that it will reduce the country’s competitiveness, since it will affect a lower arrival of foreigners who will seek other destinations in the region.
Starting in the second week of January, the capital’s airport will increase the number of takeoffs and landings per hour to 43, from the 52 with which it operated this year, this as a measure to alleviate the saturation it has suffered for years.
“We are not in favor of putting brakes on the number of flights if there is demand, because the reality is that these visitors will go somewhere else and the day they do not come to Mexico and go to the Dominican Republic, for example, they will never return to Mexico. “We are in a very competitive world, so that is not very well thought out,” said the board.
Covid is behind us
Despite these challenges, the CEO of the organization that brings together the largest global companies in the tourism sector predicted that the Mexican tourism sector will continue to grow and highlighted that by the end of 2023 it will have left behind the effects of the Covid-19 crisis.
Data from the WTTC indicate that, at the end of this year, tourism will contribute 218 billion dollars, equivalent to 15 percent of the national GDP, a figure it contributed in 2019, prior to the impact of the pandemic.
He added that at the end of this winter season, 36 million foreign visitors will have arrived in the country, according to the organization’s calculations, and that over the next 10 years, tourism is expected to contribute some 300 billion dollars to the Mexican economy, equivalent to 16.4 percent of GDP, and generate nine million jobs, two million more than today.
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“The pandemic is completely behind us and 2023 is going to be a year of great consolidation and growth for Mexico,” said Simpson.
2023-12-20 11:00:00
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