Tourism in Mexico
is a huge industry. Since the 1960s it has been heavily promoted by the
Mexican government, as "an industry without smokestacks."
[1] Mexico has traditionally been among the
most visited countries in the world according to the World Tourism Organization, and it is the second-most visited country in the Americas, after the
United States. Mexico has a significant number of
UNESCO World Heritage sites with the
list
including ancient ruins, colonial cities, and natural reserves, as well
as a number of works of modern public and private architecture. Mexico
has attracted foreign visitors beginning in the early nineteenth
century,
[2]
cultural festivals, colonial cities, nature reserves and the beach
resorts. The nation's temperate climate and unique culture – a fusion of
the European and the
Mesomerican
are attractive to tourists. The peak tourism seasons in the country are
during December and the mid-Summer, with brief surges during the week
before
Easter and
Spring break, when many of the beach resort sites become popular destinations for college students from the United States.
The majority of tourists come to Mexico from the United States and
Canada. Other visitors come from
Europe and
Asia. A small number of tourists also come from other
Latin American countries.
[3] There is also a burgeoning domestic tourism trade as a growing affluent
middle class
begins to go on holiday within their own country. While Mexico's
middle/lower class usually promotes national tourism, the middle/higher
class usually prefers to travel overseas.