Original Message:
Re: Is Montecristo Estates sold out & what Pueblo Bonito was selling the last units for (by Martin W.):
Yo Dirk --
Welcome to the forum. It's about time. I totally agree with what you say (though the exchange rate is now 13P to 1USD). But it is the PERCEPTION of what Mexico is all about now. The USA media exaggerates the threat to sell newspapers and attract eyeballs combined with the fact that Americans are wusses. The USA media portrays Mexico in a very negative light these days: Go to Mexico and you'll be killed in the cross fire of drug cartel wars, be kidnapped and held for ransom, or die of swine H1N1 flu.
Oh yes, and then there is how Cabo is portrayed during "hurricane" season. Anytime even a tropical storm develops off the west coast of Mexico the media starts reporting how Cabo is going to get wiped off the map. This "hurricane" season my wife and I were the ONLY travelers in the Cabo airport. And the most popular TV station in Sacramento was at the Mexicana counter doing a story about how nobody was going to Cabo because of the hurricane. I own a second house in Sarasota, Florida and know about "hurricanes" and know real hurricanes and how to easily hurricane proof buildings as does every resort in Cabo.
My wife and I were in the hot tub having a glass of wine enjoying the spectacular surf/ocean and our friends were calling us on our cell phone to tell us they saw us on TV describing the west coast of Mexico as joke-icanes (rained for about an hour and 35 mphr winds). Sad part was that all the US carriers canceled flights to Cabo for two days! Cabo was so empty for our two weeks at our villa that it was depressing seeing how the merchants, restaurants, timeshare salesmen... were hurting for business.
Mexico tourism has a huge image problem at the macro level. And now President Calderon proposes abolishing the Mexican Tourism Bureau to save money. Is he insane!? Ironically, while I was at my MC villa watching TV I'm seeing commercials by the Colombia Tourist Association promoting tourism to Colombia. Their Commercial end with the slogan "Colombia, the only danger is that you'll never want to go home". How many commercials did I see promoting tourism to Mexico. Nada.
Tell Ernesto to get his head out of his ... and use his clout with the Mexican government to address the bigger problem of reversing the negative imagine of Mexico.... or you and your fellow timeshare salesmen or the only timeshares/villas you and your cohorts are going to sell are to each other!