Tourism and Foreign Policy

The author of this article approaches the promotion of tourism as a key foreign policy tool. In Mexico, the task of promoting the industry falls to the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but since the tourism sector involves a wide variety of actors, a comprehensive, coordinated policy is required to turn tourism into an effective development instrument. Rosario Molinero underlines the socio-economic importance the tourism industry has taken on worldwide, due to the relationships it forges between countries. In addition to an analysis of the main trends and indicators in the industry worldwide and in Mexico, she describes the determining factors that improve, limit, facilitate and hinder the performance of the sector and its promotion. Among the main issues she touches on is the growing importance of tourism promotion as a foreign policy tool. In this context, she outlines certain measures the government can take to promote tourism on a multilateral, regional and bilateral level. Molinero concludes that multidisciplinary criteria are required for the promotion of tourism if we are to exploit to the full Mexico’s historic, cultural and natural attractions, with a view to achieving the goal set by the current administration: “More of Mexico in the world and more of the world in Mexico.” According to the author, it behooves all Mexicans to promote tourism and our success will depend on better coordination between all those involved in the industry, which has come to be one of the main pillars on which our country’s development rests, over and beyond the well-deserved international recognition it has always enjoyed.