European visitors to Mexico City

Ranking European Air visitors ('000) to Mexico City, I see that Paris is 3.5 times the size of London. Why is that?
478 MADRID
402 PARIS
232 FRANKFURT
189 AMSTERDAM
168 LONDRES

I don't know if there is a stronger cultural affiliation between French and Mexicans. I am not sure why, as there was a strong historical reason why the countries didn't get along. Maybe it's a business connection, or maybe I reading too much into it, as Frankfurt, Amesterdam and London cumulatively are much more than Paris

Cancun air visitors from Europe are dominated by Madrid and London (with all other cities very small).
226 MADRID
192 LONDRES

This doesn't answer the question, but when I go to any of the major National Parks in the US I hear tons of people speaking German and French. More so German. Some Italian. You don't hear English accents often on these trips. I guarantee that if you go to Zion or the Grand Canyon you'll hear German and French all over the place. Also, I think it is a very German thing to do to drive the whole Route 66.

I've always heard that Europeans take better advantage of our National Parks than citizens.

Here are visitors to the USA for 2013 with countries that set a record highlighted. There are over 10 visits from the UK to the USA vs 1 visit to Mexico City or Cancun. But France shows 3.75 for all of USA to 1 visitor Mexico City.

I don't know if they include Japanese visitors to the US territory of Guam. They bring planeloads of tourists there for cheap vacations. Also Japanese vacation in Hawaii.

It's interesting to see Brazil soar past Germany. Their rate of growth is very high.

Country of Residence	2013	(2013/2012)
CANADA	23,387,275	3.0%
MEXICO	14,342,000	1.0%
UNITED KINGDOM	3,835,268	1.9%
JAPAN	3,730,287	0.9%
BRAZIL	2,060,291	15.0%
GERMANY	1,916,471	2.2%
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (Excl HK)	1,806,553	22.5%
FRANCE	1,504,562	3.4%
SOUTH KOREA	1,359,924	8.7%
AUSTRALIA	1,205,060	7.4%
INDIA	859,156	18.6%
ITALY	838,883	0.9%
VENEZUELA	788,069	16.8%
COLOMBIA	748,116	24.2%
ARGENTINA	686,098	11.7%
SPAIN	619,860	2.1%
NETHERLANDS	589,296	-0.4%
SWEDEN	476,571	7.8%
SWITZERLAND	473,064	-0.7%
TAIWAN	384,581	32.5%
IRELAND	367,110	10.6%
RUSSIA	335,279	29.1%
ISRAEL	331,359	9.1%
NORWAY	284,311	8.2%
DENMARK	269,496	-0.7%
BELGIUM	265,875	2.2%
ECUADOR	254,737	21.4%
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	238,134	-2.6%
SAUDI ARABIA	221,230	21.4%
PERU	217,967	14.6%
CHILE	212,199	13.1%
NEW ZEALAND	209,136	12.6%
BAHAMAS	206,206	-8.4%
GUATEMALA	202,179	4.0%
PHILIPPINES	200,521	13.8%
AUSTRIA	186,010	1.5%
COSTA RICA	182,063	1.3%
JAMAICA	168,283	0.8%
TURKEY	160,417	16.8%
SINGAPORE	152,823	-5.7%

Quote: Pacomartin

I don't know if there is a stronger cultural affiliation between French and Mexicans.

Yes and no.

Mexican independence began as a protest against Napoleon's brother who had been installed as ruler of Spain. That didn't last long, and somehow the movement morphed into full-fledged independence.

Later that same century Napoleon III invaded Mexico, lost a big battle at Puebla but won the war, installed a minor Austrian noble as emperor of Mexico (giving Mexico its second Imperial period, believe it or not), and they were all eventually kicked out once the US solved its internal civil war and had the leisure to focus on its neighbors.

Still alter that century, dictator and president-for-life Porfirio Diaz remade some sections of Mexico City in Parisian fashion (specifically Reforma avenue). When he was kicked out in another spat of revolution and civil war the following century (finally!), he spent the rest of his life in exile in France.

Make of that what you will.

Quote: Nareed

Make of that what you will.

I knew that Diaz was a francophile, which always seemed a little strange to me. But that was last century. I don't know how much of that history carries over to the present day.

Maybe the French prefer their own beaches, and when they want to travel they go to a cultural center. The British have terrible beaches with cold water and pointy rocks. Traditionally, they went to Algarve in Portugal, Costa del Sol in Spain, France, and Italy. But in the last decade these places have become very expensive. The price of flying across the ocean is now minimal compared to the day to day cost of hotels and food.

It may be a question of language. I assume French speakers have at least a minimal comprehension of Spanish.

On the other hand, I can't explain American tourism very well. I am not sure why so many Brazilians come to the USA. And a very high percentage come for pleasure (over 92%). You can see why they resent having to apply for visas.

Quote: Pacomartin

It may be a question of language. I assume French speakers have at least a minimal comprehension of Spanish.

I wouldn't bet on it. French is the least Latin of the Romance languages. Likely because the Franks influenced it early with their Germanic tongue. Spelling and pronunciation is very far removed from Spanish, even when the common roots can be seen, such as in "cuerno" and "croissant."

Quote:

On the other hand, I can't explain American tourism very well. I am not sure why so many Brazilians come to the USA. And a very high percentage come for pleasure (over 92%). You can see why they resent having to apply for visas.

I assume because it is America. You know how different third-world countries are. If you lived in one, woulnd't you want to get away somewhere more civilized? With plentiful shopping opportunities to boot?

Quote: Nareed

I assume because it is America. You know how different third-world countries are. If you lived in one, woulnd't you want to get away somewhere more civilized? With plentiful shopping opportunities to boot?

I had to speak at the Ministry of Defense (MOD) in London. I looked up the rates today at an old 19th century hotel above the Charing Cross Rail Station and the rooms are USD$402.66 incl tax. Mind you these rooms were built in the 1860's and are so small that you smash into the wall when you get out of bed. The State Department would reimburse up $380.

The advantage of this hotel is that you can walk to the MOD easily and avoid a lengthy subway ride or expensive taxi ride. At the time I went the difference was much bigger than $22 per night.The same chain had a smaller hotel a few blocks closer for $526.09 per night.

The cost of going somewhere more civilized can be tremendous. In almost any city in the USA, for $400-$500 a night you can get an impressive hotel room, not one that makes a Holiday Inn Express room seem spacious. Or where you pay $50-$75 for Indian food for dinner.

Quinta Real in Guadalajara is running a webspecial for $226.10 for one of only 25 Gran Clase Suitex. It looks a little stuffy, but it is incredible.



Decorada con suaves tonos ocres y obras de arte originales, esta Suite está disponible con cama King Size o dos camas Matrimoniales, es ideal para recibir visitas porque cuentan con una cómoda sala de estar, además de aire acondicionado, calefacción, detectores de humo, despertador digital, caja de seguridad, juegos de cama hipoalergénicos, sistema de agua purificada, plancha y tabla para planchar, mini bar con costo adicional reabastecido diariamente, frigorífico,dos líneas telefónicas directas, servicio de correo de voz, conexión a Internet, así como un escritorio para viajeros de negocios. Espacioso baño con acabados en mármol, jacuzzi, amenidades exclusivas para consentirse de la marca Salvatore Ferragamo, batas para él y ella, lufa y secadora de cabello. *Camas extras disponibles con costo adicional *Cunas disponibles

Quote: Nareed

I wouldn't bet on it. French is the least Latin of the Romance languages. Likely because the Franks influenced it early with their Germanic tongue. Spelling and pronunciation is very far removed from Spanish, even when the common roots can be seen, such as in "cuerno" and "croissant."

Frankly, I am still stumped why Mexico City would be so much more popular with Parisians than Londoners

Just looking at these air visitor statistics for 2013 again
478K MADRID - AeroMexico & Iberia
402K PARIS - (281,498 Air France) + AeroMexico
232K FRANKFURT- (231,666 Lufthansa)
189K AMSTERDAM (188,546 KLM)
168K LONDRES - AeroMexico & British Airways

For the first 6 months of 2014, UK has almost as many visitors as France, but most of the UK visitors are going to Cancun, whereas 80% of French visitors are going to Mexico City.
342,742 Spain
256,894 France
245,612 UK
163,565 Germany
115,972 Netherlands
32,932 Japan
20,842 China

Wikipedia says in the past AeroMexico had service to Frankfurt, Rome, and Barcelona.

Quote: Pacomartin

The cost of going somewhere more civilized can be tremendous. In almost any city in the USA, for $400-$500 a night you can get an impressive hotel room, not one that makes a Holiday Inn Express room seem spacious.

Europe has always been notoriously expensive compared to the US.

What's impressive is how cheap US hotels at tourist spots can be. I've mentioned a business type hotel goes for about $80-$110 per night including tax in cities like Morelia, Guanajuato, Oaxaca, monterrey, etc. Compare that to Vegas. If I wanted to vacation for 2+ weeks in Cancun or some other beach resort (and why would I?), or some other place here in Mexico, I'd spend more just in lodging than I do in Vegas for lodging and meals.

The cost of going somewhere more civilized can be lower, too.

Quote: Nareed

Europe has always been notoriously expensive compared to the US.

Aeromexico now has 6 Dreamliners, and they should be able to replace the last 4 Boeing 767's this year. They will then acquire three more Dreamliner on top of just replacement. Their 4 B777's are not very old. Dreamliners now fly to all three European destinations (Madrid, Paris, London) as well as Tokyo and Santiago Chile.

New Aeromexico route are: South/Central American routes include Medellin, Colombia and Panama city. Boston and Toronto in northern America and a fourth weekly flight to London.

I haven't heard anything aboutresuming large scale service in Toluca. They are eliminating smaller planes from Mexico City to try and manage the traffic.

Service by the European airlines remains the same. No sign of resurrecting the nonstops to Rome and Barcelona
Air France Paris: Charles de Gaulle
British Airways: London-Heathrow
Iberia: Madrid
KLM: Amsterdam
Lufthansa: Frankfurt & Munich

Emirates is still discussing bringing Mexico City airport into the global connection via Dubai, but nothing firm is established. They may wait until the new airport is built, so they can land the A380.