Mexico Hopes To Duck Ripple Effects Of Heightened Air Security

Mexico is hopeful to ward off the impact of new and sweeping security measures aboard U.S. flights on the local leisure industry, the country’s third-largest source of income.

Tourism accounts for 8.1 percent of Mexico’s GNP. The Aztec nation shares a common 1,988-mile-long borderline with the U.S., a country that provides roughly 90 percent of the total amount of incoming tourists.

On the heels of a heightened state of alert in the United States in the face of possible terrorist attacks, American authorities took an array of security actions and ordered international airlines to post armed air marshals on certain flights.

American demands have put an additional spoke in the wheel of operations at Mexico City’s already bustling international airport.

Experts warn the new measures will also put an extra financial burden on Mexican air carriers that have already endured nearly $460 million in losses after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Despite the storm looming in the horizon for the aviation industry following this heightened security alert, authorities point to possible good outcomes for Mexican tourism by the end of 2004.

A rebounding U.S. economy will certainly make more would-be travelers pack up and go down to the other side of the border, especially amid a perception of insecurity marking European and Asian flights.

An ever-growing flow of incoming Canadian and Spanish tourists, coupled with a the dollar’s hefty markdown to the euro, could spur up Canadians and Americans to fly to Mexico’s coveted beach destinations where a lower greenback can buy cheaper lodging , food and entertainment.