Et Cetera

CowParade comes to Mexico City.
From October 2005 through February 2006 be on the lookout for 250 brightly and fancifully decorated life-size fiber glass cows on the streets of Polanco, la Condesa, Santa Fe, Paseo de la Reforma & la Alameda, created by prestigious Mexican and international artists. Mexico City now joins the ranks of over 20 cities world-wide who have hosted this out pouring of cow art. CowParade is an international public art moo-vement that has delighted audiences of all ages with its colorful cow sculptures while raising millions of dollars for art, education, and charity. CowParade works by commissioning artists to decorate/recreate fiber-glass cows which are publicly displayed in one city and later auctioned off internationally. Sponsored by Grupo Lala, (the milk company), CowParade Mexico will benefit Mexican charitable organizations. For more information, or to sponsor or purchase a cow, visit: www.cowparade.com Cow Facts: A cow eats about 100 pounds of grass each day. A cow spends six hours a day eating and eight hours a day chewing cud.

Mexico Invests US$10 Million to Wilma rebound

Just in time for the winter holidays, December 15 is the official re-launch date of the areas on the Mexican Caribbean affected by Hurricane Wilma: Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Islas Mujeres. The re-launch promotion, which will complement local campaigns implemented by the local visitors and conventions bureaus, includes multifarious marketing, advertising and publication relations activities on a national and international scale, representing a US$10 million investment. “Our federal and local governments are committed to recovering the tourism infrastructure and services in the affected areas. The recuperation of the region has been so swift that we see this situation as a great opportunity for the Quintana Roo destinations to accelerate the repositioning they had been going through in the recent past,” said Mexico Tourism Board’s CEO Francisco Ortiz.

Mahatma Gandhi Ofrenda at Hotel Villa de Sol.

Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico, November 1st (for children who have died) and November 2nd (for adults), it is a time when the dead are thought to return to visit and elaborate ofendas (altars) are built to celebrate the lives of those who have gone before.

Monarchs on the Move

From summer spots in southern Canada and northern United States, millions of Monarch butterflies flee the north’s freezing temperatures and embark on a month-long trip 2,000 miles south, flying some 70 miles per day to reach the Oyamel mountaintop fir forests of the central Mexican state of Michoacan. With sanctuaries open to the public in Sierra Chincua, 30-minute drive north of Angangueo; and El Campanario (also known as El Rosario), which lies above the small village of El Rosario, common departure points to the sanctuaries are Ocampo, Zitacuaro and Morelia. Visitors can view the delicate creatures anytime between November and March, although the best time to see them is in February and early March, right before they head north again.

SHOP TAX FREE IN MEXICO !

International tourists will be able to make tax-free purchases while vacationing in Mexico starting on July 1, 2006, thanks to a Tourism Ministry-backed law recently passed by Mexico’s Congress with overwhelming support. Spearheaded by Rodolfo Elizondo Torres, Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, the law will grant international visitors a full refund of the 15 percent sales tax added to purchases if they adhere to the following criteria: 1. The merchandise acquired must be purchased in Mexico and verified by airport or seaport customs. 2. The value of the purchase made by the visitor must be verified with a receipt presented at time of departure to be worth at least 1,200 Mexican pesos total per store (approximately US$110 at current exchange rates) 3. The goods purchased must leave Mexico with the person who purchased them, just as other duty-free goods do.

How the sales tax will be reimbursed, whether a commission will be charged on the reimbursement and whether the benefit will also be extended to tourists entering Mexico by land have yet to be determined.
The new law is expected to increase competition in the tourism sector and foster private investments in Mexico.

Mexico Tourism Up in arrivals and earnings

Mexico’s Tourism Secretariat (Sectur) released results for the first nine months of 2005, showing an increase in the number of people visiting Mexico and the resulting revenue compared with the same period in 2004. According to figures, international tourism revenue between January and September 2005 totaled nearly US$9.2 billion, marking a 15.4 percent increase from 2004’s results during the same period. Mexico received 16.6 million international tourists during the first nine months of 2005, up 10.4 percent from 2004. The tourism trade balance at month-end September 2005 was nearly US$3.3 billion, a 13 percent increase compared with the same time last year. The number of visitors to Mexico via cruise ships also increased. Marking an 8.6 percent jump from last year’s figures during the same period. Mexico’s ports welcomed 4.4 million cruisers in the first nine months of 2005. Source: The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB)

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