ARTICLE
We are cruising into the last two months of 2018, and just past a major mid-term election. While the dust is still clearing from Tuesday’s results (I will pause on election coverage until next week) I’d like to dedicate this eNews toward a global perspective and write about my Mexican vacation experience which I believe provides a broader world view from the ‘other’ side of the border. You may ask, what does an article about a vacation trip to Mexico have to do with the business of the Chamber? Actually, the reflection of the business community in the tourist hub of Cancun and Maya Rivera has a lot to say about the world economy and its impact on California and Santa Cruz County. Mexico's tourism industry is booming. The country is the No.1 destination for tourists from the U.S. and is receiving record levels of visitors. Mexico logged over 10 million tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2018 and is expected to attract 40 million tourists by the year's end, a new record. Major new developments in Baja California Sur, the Maya Riviera, and Oaxaca continue to attract attention from foreigners. Quintana Roo recorded higher economic growth than China in 2016 and the second highest in Mexico, with strong tourist numbers behind the surge. The state’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.6% last year, according to national statistics institute Inegi, whereas China’s economic growth slowed to its weakest pace in a quarter of a century to 6.7%. The state’s growth rate represents a 2.8% gain on 2016 numbers. Only the small state of Aguascalientes recorded better 2017 growth than Quintana Roo, with 9.5%. Growth in the latter was the highest since 2007 when the economy expanded by 10.6%. Last year’s figure is almost three times higher than that recorded for the Mexican economy as a whole, which grew by 2.7% in 2017. In comparison, while not at the magnitude of Cancun’s economic growth, tourism fuels our Santa Cruz region and contributes $700 plus million to our regional economy with our beaches and unlimited outdoor recreational opportunities. Spending nine days in sunny Cancun seeing the display of international people from all over the globe re-enforces my thinking: “We are more alike than different” regardless of where you come from, your ethnicity, gender and age. Young Mexican kids play and goof around just as young Americans do. The sounds of laughter from a Japanese or Brazilian baby is no different from that of a Santa Cruz child. The sounds of different languages at Mexico’s National parks, on the motor boat to a snorkeling paradise are the same as if I were at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk or a local county park during a sunny summer day. Mexican television stations offered every language available to the visiting tourists from around the globe. In viewing some of the coverage from CNN and other local outlets, the Mexican new anchors’ view point about the American election was the same tone as if watching from KSBW or KION. Oddly, when discussing the ‘American” election (Congress and the Senate) there was a back and forth about the Trump factor or a Blue wave. Over the course of nine days, however, I saw or heard no discussion about the migration of Hondurans through Mexico to the US border. Of course, I spent limited time watching TV, but why was this story not covered? I can only surmise. If you have traveled to the east coast of Mexico then you know that the sounds of economic growth is evident in Cancun’s ‘hotel zone’ at the Maya Riviera resorts stretching from the airport south to Playa del Carmen, to the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres. One night at the resort while watching ‘evening entertainment’, which translates to ‘tourist participation contests,’ the show host asked four men in the audience to the stage to perform their best interpretation of Michael Jackson’s dance moves. An Irishman, a man from Ohio, a local Mexican from a neighboring state and a Brazilian each did their best Michael Jackson dance moves (some poorly flawed moon-walks and hip movements that brought laughter from the crowd). After each participant completed his best moves, the audience judged with loud cheers. The contest ended in a tie. What was on display of course was tourist induced fun and friendship with an Irishman and American from Ohio giving high fives and bear hugs of friendship; nationality did not matter as laughter is universal. On a snorkeling and scuba diving excursion, the motor boat to the coral reefs was filled with a German family, Americans, Mexicans, Brazilians, Canadians and several Europeans. The tropical blue warm sea water was as inviting to tourists as was the friendship of the crew. As the week went by, the tone of an American election and the hyper-extensive of negative ads on display back in America were replaced by the laughter and joy of vacationers being treated warmly and kindly by our Mexican hosts. The lesson learned was the humbleness and kindness from humans from different places all providing the global perspective that shined brightly on the warm November days and evenings in Cancun, Mexico. My hope is that the negative campaign rhetoric on TV, print and digital ads at home will slowly disappear into the election night and we, a nation of immigrants, can get back to the warmer display of human kindness that should be the hallmark of Santa Cruz County. As they say, a jolt of kind words and a smile goes a long way.
We are cruising into the last two months of 2018, and just past a major mid-term election. While the dust is still clearing from Tuesday’s results (I will pause on election coverage until next week) I’d like to dedicate this eNews toward a global perspective and write about my Mexican vacation experience which I believe provides a broader world view from the ‘other’ side of the border. You may ask, what does an article about a vacation trip to Mexico have to do with the business of the Chamber? Actually, the reflection of the business community in the tourist hub of Cancun and Maya Rivera has a lot to say about the world economy and its impact on California and Santa Cruz County. Mexico's tourism industry is booming. The country is the No.1 destination for tourists from the U.S. and is receiving record levels of visitors. Mexico logged over 10 million tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2018 and is expected to attract 40 million tourists by the year's end, a new record. Major new developments in Baja California Sur, the Maya Riviera, and Oaxaca continue to attract attention from foreigners. Quintana Roo recorded higher economic growth than China in 2016 and the second highest in Mexico, with strong tourist numbers behind the surge. The state’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.6% last year, according to national statistics institute Inegi, whereas China’s economic growth slowed to its weakest pace in a quarter of a century to 6.7%. The state’s growth rate represents a 2.8% gain on 2016 numbers. Only the small state of Aguascalientes recorded better 2017 growth than Quintana Roo, with 9.5%. Growth in the latter was the highest since 2007 when the economy expanded by 10.6%. Last year’s figure is almost three times higher than that recorded for the Mexican economy as a whole, which grew by 2.7% in 2017. In comparison, while not at the magnitude of Cancun’s economic growth, tourism fuels our Santa Cruz region and contributes $700 plus million to our regional economy with our beaches and unlimited outdoor recreational opportunities. Spending nine days in sunny Cancun seeing the display of international people from all over the globe re-enforces my thinking: “We are more alike than different” regardless of where you come from, your ethnicity, gender and age. Young Mexican kids play and goof around just as young Americans do. The sounds of laughter from a Japanese or Brazilian baby is no different from that of a Santa Cruz child. The sounds of different languages at Mexico’s National parks, on the motor boat to a snorkeling paradise are the same as if I were at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk or a local county park during a sunny summer day. Mexican television stations offered every language available to the visiting tourists from around the globe. In viewing some of the coverage from CNN and other local outlets, the Mexican new anchors’ view point about the American election was the same tone as if watching from KSBW or KION. Oddly, when discussing the ‘American” election (Congress and the Senate) there was a back and forth about the Trump factor or a Blue wave. Over the course of nine days, however, I saw or heard no discussion about the migration of Hondurans through Mexico to the US border. Of course, I spent limited time watching TV, but why was this story not covered? I can only surmise.
If you have traveled to the east coast of Mexico then you know that the sounds of economic growth is evident in Cancun’s ‘hotel zone’ at the Maya Riviera resorts stretching from the airport south to Playa del Carmen, to the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres. One night at the resort while watching ‘evening entertainment’, which translates to ‘tourist participation contests,’ the show host asked four men in the audience to the stage to perform their best interpretation of Michael Jackson’s dance moves. An Irishman, a man from Ohio, a local Mexican from a neighboring state and a Brazilian each did their best Michael Jackson dance moves (some poorly flawed moon-walks and hip movements that brought laughter from the crowd). After each participant completed his best moves, the audience judged with loud cheers. The contest ended in a tie. What was on display of course was tourist induced fun and friendship with an Irishman and American from Ohio giving high fives and bear hugs of friendship; nationality did not matter as laughter is universal.
On a snorkeling and scuba diving excursion, the motor boat to the coral reefs was filled with a German family, Americans, Mexicans, Brazilians, Canadians and several Europeans. The tropical blue warm sea water was as inviting to tourists as was the friendship of the crew.
As the week went by, the tone of an American election and the hyper-extensive of negative ads on display back in America were replaced by the laughter and joy of vacationers being treated warmly and kindly by our Mexican hosts. The lesson learned was the humbleness and kindness from humans from different places all providing the global perspective that shined brightly on the warm November days and evenings in Cancun, Mexico. My hope is that the negative campaign rhetoric on TV, print and digital ads at home will slowly disappear into the election night and we, a nation of immigrants, can get back to the warmer display of human kindness that should be the hallmark of Santa Cruz County. As they say, a jolt of kind words and a smile goes a long way.