Conectividad e inversiones fortalecerán el turismo de San Francisco y Oakland a México

At the conclusion of the Operación Toca Puertas tour in San Francisco, California, the Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Miguel Torruco Marqués, highlighted that air connectivity and the promotion of investment in the sector are key to strengthening the flow of tourists between Mexico and this important metropolis of the United States.
Accompanied by the Consul General of Mexico in San Francisco, Remedios Gómez Arnau, and the delegation that is part of the tour, the head of the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) visited the Oakland International Airport, where he held an important meeting with Craig Simon, Acting Director of Aviation, and John Albrecht, Marketing Director of the airport, with whom they agreed on actions to increase the number of routes and frequencies to our country.
It was indicated that, currently, the Oakland International Airport has 4 direct connections to Mexico, these are to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Silao and Morelia, with Volaris; and 4 more operated by Southwest to Cancun, Mexico City, San José del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta.
Also, it was reported that this airport is the fourth largest in California, with more than 11 million passengers per year, and the fastest growing airport in the state in the last two years.
As part of the activities of Operation Toca Puertas in San Francisco, Torruco Marqués and the Mexican delegation participated in an interesting dialogue with young Mexican professionals and entrepreneurs from the technology sector at the Kapor Center for Entrepreneurship; which was organized by Visit Oakland, the tourist promotion office of this city.
In this meeting, interesting projects were presented that, through technological and digital tools, allow different sectors to be promoted, including tourism. Also present were Peter Gamez, President and CEO of the Visit Oakland Association, Juan Camero, Visit Oakland representative, as well as John Albrecht, Director of Marketing for Oakland International Airport.
During the meeting, the Secretary of Tourism recognized Susan Coss, co-founder of Mezcalistas, for contributing to the promotion and dissemination of Mexico through the emblematic drink.
Within the framework of Operation Toca Puertas in San Francisco, Torruco Marqués met with Darlene Chiu, executive director of Global SF; and with Skip Whitney, executive vice president and partner of Kidder Mathews, with whom he spoke about an investment project focused on the luxury segment, which satisfies the demands of a more demanding and informed tourist, and with a high level of spending.
He underscored the importance of US tourism in Mexico, as it is the first issuing market for international tourists, which in 2022 registered an expense of 14 thousand 375 million dollars, this is 36.6% more than in 2019; and from January to June of this year, it reported 7,671 million dollars, which represents an increase of 34.3% more, compared to the same period of 2019, and 1.7% more than in the first half of 2022.
The Secretary of Tourism pointed out that the increase in tourist spending shows that the tourism policy carried out by the current administration is correct, by prioritizing the economic benefit and per capita spending, thanks to the development of tourism products in the different destinations of the country. , in compliance with the instruction of the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to make tourism a tool for social reconciliation.
On the Operación Toca Puertas tour in San Francisco, the head of Sectur was accompanied by the Undersecretary of Tourism, Humberto Hernández Haddad; the general director of Promotion and International Affairs, Emmanuel Rey; the Secretary of Tourism Promotion of Yucatan, Michelle Fridman Hirsch.
As well as Héctor Tejada Shaar, president of theConfederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Concanaco Servytur); Judith Guerra Aguijosa, president of the Mexican Group of Associations of Travel Agencies and Tourism Companies (GMA); Rebeca Bravo Carranza, vice president of the Cancun Downtown Hotel Committee  of the Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres Hotel Association; Clotilde Houzelle, member of the National Council of Tourist Services Exporters AC (Conexstur); Alejandra Arias Alcalá, commercial leader (USA) of Volaris; Ricardo Segovia Gasque, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo Médico Costamed; René Luis Rodríguez Cano, CEO of Ketzaltour; among others.