Puerto Vallarta News & Events

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When traveling to Mexico there are important considerations to keep in mind. In order to make your trip as relaxing and stress-free as possible it is wise to acquaint yourself with local requirements, rules, and customs to avoid any unnecessary delays or problems while on vacation.

The following is a list of things to help you plan a trip to Mexico.

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Optimism for Puerto Vallarta and Mexico

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2010

There is a fresh air of optimism in Puerto Vallarta and other Mexican resort vacation destinations with both hotels and Real estate reporting increased sales and income. There are a couple new hotels being built in Puerto Vallarta and an 18% increase in tourism from all over the world. As a vacation destination Puerto Vallarta has everything a traveler could ask for: amazing geographical beauty, great beaches, sophisticated cultural venues, world class gourmet restaurants

In a recent article by Robert P. Miller, PhD, there is speculation that the negative media campaign from the US may be a roundabout way to hold back Mexico from benefiting from the decline in the US economy. In order not to violate NAFTA or other agreements the USA cannot use direct protectionism; however it seems content to allow the media to play this protectionist role. The U.S. media - over the last year - has portrayed Mexico as being on the brink of economic collapse was particularly aggressive in the weeks leading up to spring break. The main reason for this is money. During that two-week period, over 120,000 young American citizens poured into Mexico and left behind hundreds of millions of dollars.
These same protectionist news sources gave a very inaccurate version of the danger from the swine flu in Mexico and totally devastated tourism for a short period. Compare some statistics: For a 5 month period beginning May 27 2009 there were 87 deaths in Mexico from the swine flu. During those same five months there were36 murdered school children in Chicago. By their logic, if 87 deaths from the swine flu in Mexico warrants canceling flights and cruise ships to Mexico, then close all roads and highways in the USA because of record 43,359 automobile related deaths in the USA in 2008.
As well all Americans should be very impressed to know that Mexico completely avoided the subprime problem that devastated the U.S. banking industry. The Mexican banks are healthy and profitable. Mexico has a growing and very healthy middle and upper middle class. The very recent introduction of residential financing has Mexico in a unique position of having over 90% of current homeowners owning their house outright. U.S. banks are competing for the Mexican, Canadian and American cross border loan business. It is and will continue to be a very safe and very profitable
business. In most of the destinations in Mexico that attract the Baby Boomers market for home buying there is no real estate bubble. The higher end markets ($2-20 million) in many of these destinations are going through a modest correction. The Baby Boomers market here is between $200,000 and $600,000. With the continuing demand inside the Bay of Banderas, that price point, in the coming years, will disappear. This is the reason the Mexican government is spending billions of dollars on more infrastructure north along the coast all the way up to Mazatlan.

Another part of the US economy that has become overpriced is healthcare and many Canadians and Americans are finding they can get equal or better medical care in Mexico for a fraction of the cost. Thus the beginning of Medical Tourism which is estimated to add 5-7% to Mexico's GDP. Since the main competitors to Mexico for Medical Tourism is are Thailand and India, Mexico is more attractive for many reasons proximity being the most obvious. Also the lack of government stability in those 2 destinations have helped Mexico capture close to half of this growth industry. In Mexico today there are over 56 world class hospitals being built to keep up with this business.

Another very impressive detail is that Mexico is currently sitting on a cash surplus and an almost balanced budget.
Most Americans have never heard of Carlos Slim until he loaned the New York Times $250 million. After that it became clear to many investors around the world what Mexicans already knew: that Mexico had been able to avoid the worst of the U.S. economic devastation. Mexico's resilience is to be admired.
When the U.S. Federal Reserve granted a $30 billion loan to each of Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, and Brazil, Mexico reinvested the money in Treasury bonds in an account in New York City.

According to oil traders, Mexico's Pemex wisely as the price of oil shot to $147 a barrel put in place an investment strategy that hinged on oil trading in the range of $38-$60 a barrel. Since the beginning of 2009 Mexico has been collecting revenues on hedged positions that give them $90-$110 per barrel today. Mexico's recent and under reported oil discovery in the Palaeo Channels of Chicontepec has placed it third in the world for oil reserves, right behind Canada and Saudi Arabia.

The following is a quote from Rosalind Wilson, President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce on March 19, 2009. "The strength of the Mexican economic system makes the country a favorite destination for Canadian investment".