Mexican tourism officials and airline
representatives discussed the country's low-cost airline trend and its
impact on the tourism industry at a press conference held at Tourism
Tianguis 2006, Mexico's most important travel trade fair.
Mexico's longest-running airline, Mexicana Airlines, initiated the low-cost
airline trend with its July 2005 launch of Click. Avolar soon followed,
introducing its fleet of three planes of less than 150 passengers in
capacity in September 2005. Avolar hopes to service more than 800,000
tourists by the end of 2006. ABC Interject introduced its fleet of
brand-new planes in December 2005.
The most recent addition to
Mexico's low-cost domestic airline offerings with a March 2006 launch
is Volaris, which initiated service with 55 airplanes holding up to
144 passengers each.
Mexico received 21.96 million international visitors in 2005, and
travel to the country's less-frequented destinations is becoming
increasingly popular. While air travel to destinations outside of
Mexico's major airline hubs has traditionally been costly, the
competition generated by the increased availability of domestic
flights within Mexico is expected to drive down costs.
"This new network of air transportation is expected to increase
domestic tourism among international visitors," said Mexico
Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo. "Our government is confident
in the potential growth of this market and is committed to supporting
the business objectives of airlines that are offering low-cost
services to consumers."
Only 6.5 percent of Mexican tourists currently travel via air within
the country, leaving much room for growth. The country's diverse
independent companies are taking advantage of this opportunity and
focusing on the modernization of fleets and use of technology;
increased labor productivity; and improving service and safety
standards, while remaining committed to keeping costs low. The result
is convenient air travel that at times is less expensive than ground
transportation.
The promise of increased tourism made possible by inexpensive air
transportation is driving the creation of strategic alliances between
airlines and ground transportation, hotels and entertainment
companies, as well as between destinations and other key players in
the domestic and international tourism industry, said the representatives
of several Mexican airlines such as Aeromexico.
Located only 40
miles west of Mexico City, Adolfo Lopez Mateos
International Airport in Toluca serves as a central hub for the
majority of the new low-cost airlines, alleviating the air traffic of
other cities, such as Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City.
The five airlines that spoke at Tourism Tianguis 2006 agreed that the
increasing demand on the domestic airline industry creates a need for
expansion of Toluca Airport. There are also plans for improved
infrastructure and ground connectivity to other Mexican destinations,
and for an increased number of expanded routes.
Mexico's domestic service currently caters to approximately 2.5
million passengers.
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