Travel Leaders Reports Mexico Remains Popular

 

Mexico’s tourism industry is bouncing back dramatically after a fierce one-two punch earlier in the year by claiming six of the Top 15 International Destination spots in Travel Leaders’ authoritative Fall Travel Trends survey.  Travel Leaders seventh annual fall survey reveals the impact H1N1 (Swine) Flu and pockets of violence had on Mexico travel reservations during the early part of the year.

“The data from our survey indicates that Mexico bookings were off this year versus last year, but the prominent rankings which many Mexican destinations have in our new survey point to the tremendous savings, value and importance Mexico plays in our day-to-day lives whether for business or pleasure,” stated Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group.  “As professional travel consultants, our Travel Leaders experts across the United States take countless actions to maximize the safety of our clients no matter what part of the country or world they are traveling to – and that most certainly includes Mexico.”

The survey of 452 Travel Leaders agents, managers and owners was conducted in August and offers insights into actual bookings to top international destinations for the remainder of 2009.

Key Findings in Travel Leaders Survey

For cumulative business travel bookings to Mexico for the entire year versus this time in 2008 (150 responses):

*    51.4 percent reported bookings were higher or on par with last year while
*    48.6 percent reported bookings were lower.

The top three reasons cited for a decline in business travel bookings to Mexico were (73 responses):

1. The economy— 89 percent
2. Flu— 43.8 percent
3. Negative news stories— 38.4 percent

For cumulative leisure travel bookings to Mexico for the entire year versus this time in 2008 (396 responses):

*    25.3 percent reported bookings were higher or on par with last year
*    74.7 percent reported bookings were lower.

Travel Leaders agents, managers and owners were asked to indicate how much impact the violence in certain areas of Mexico has had on leisure travel bookings to Mexico in 2009. (352 responses)

*    29.8 percent of Travel Leaders polled indicated there was little to no impact on bookings
*    46.6 percent of Travel Leaders polled indicated there was some impact on bookings
*    23.6 percent of Travel Leaders polled indicated there was significant impact on bookings

Travel Leaders agents, managers and owners were asked to indicate how much impact the H1N1 (Swine) Flu has had on leisure travel bookings to Mexico in 2009. (352 responses)

*    12.8 percent of Travel Leaders polled indicated there was little to no impact on bookings
*    37.5 percent of Travel Leaders polled indicated there was some impact on bookings
*    49.7 percent of Travel Leaders polled indicated there was significant impact on bookings

Visit www.TravelLeaders.com.