Mexico’s economy relies heavily on tourism and of all industries, tourism is the one that has been hit the hardest with the novel Covid 19 virus effectively stopping travel in its tracks.
According to a 2017 report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. Tourism directly accounts for 8.5% of the GDP, 5.8% of full-time employment, and 77.2% of service exports. In fact, the tourism industry in Mexico which in 2018 was the seventh most visited country in the world, contributes 8.7% of total GDP.
The spread of Covid-19 is the biggest threat to the global tourism industry since World War II, academics in Mexico say. But despite alarming statements like this, there is still some hope and heroes to be found.
Mexico and Latin America’s preeminent full-service tourism developer, Grupo Vidanta (one of the first businesses we featured on The Lost Executive) remains committed to the entire Vidanta family, including their guests and employees. Grupo Vidanta have vowed to continue to keep their team of 17,000+ employed during the novel coronavirus epidemic despite the closure of its resorts.
During this time, Vidanta will work on bettering their resorts and preparing for when they can reopen their doors once again. At which time they plan to be able to offer an even better service and working environment.
Iván Chávez, the founder’s son, gave a heartfelt statement on Linkedin regarding this where he highlighted what has always been the driving force behind the business that his father established and he has carried on. The importance of family and caring for each other.
