by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:05 AM ET, Fri May 1, 2020
Tourism in Mexico has been ravaged by the coronavirus outbreak, and industry professionals are working together to fight for assistance from the federal government.
According to The Riviera Maya Times, the National Tourism Business Council has been working with local and federal government officials to express how the viral pandemic has devastated the industry and develop a plan for recovery when travel restrictions are lifted.
National Tourism Business Council president Braulio Arsuaga Losada said the industry needs financial assistance, foreign investment in airlines, regulation of digital hosting platforms and more to rebound from the recent decline in demand.
Officials from the National Association of Hotel Chains are working closely with congress members and governors around Mexico on ways to re-open the travel industry by the end of fall, instead of waiting until the forecasted opening period in the first quarter of 2021.
"The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador refuses to support the tourism sector which is why we must move from the complaint to a plan of action so that the industry takes off as soon as the health emergency is over," Integralia director Luis Carlos Ugalde told The Riviera Maya Times.
"The sector had presented a compilation of 14 proposals to the Ministries of Finance and Public Credit, Economy, and Tourism, as well as to the Presidency of the Republic to avoid massive job losses and to reactivate this type of business in the future," Ugalde continued.
CNET's Arsuaga Losada told The Riviera Maya Times there are "50,000 companies in the industry with less than 10 employees, which represents $65 billion." The industry is looking for extensions on tax deadlines, not to have them completely forgiven.
Other groups are also working hard during the devastating time, as the Quintana Roo Tourism Board detailed its strategies for the recovery of the Mexican Caribbean's tourism industry, including supporting the local government's efforts to stanch the spread of the coronavirus.
The tourism board unveiled Paradise Can Wait/Please Stay Home, which provides a virtual sampling of the region's myriad attractions.
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