Mexico Cruises

Mexico travel. The phrase summons images of sun-drenched beaches, the land of the Aztec, and cruises through playgrounds of the rich and famous. Come to Mexico on one of our Mexico Cruises where you can visit the past, play in the present, and dream of the future.

A Brief Guide about Mexico

Mexico, in full United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos in Spanish), federal republic in North America. Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Western Hemisphere and is rich in natural resources such as petroleum and natural gas. Mexico’s efforts to develop and modernize its economy—one of the 15 largest in the world—have been slowed by the nation’s rugged terrain, limited farmland, a rapidly growing population, and a series of economic crises. The nation’s capital, Mexico City, is one of the largest cities in the world. In Latin America, only Brazil has a larger population than Mexico.

Mexico is bordered by the United States on the north, the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea on the east, and Guatemala and Belize on the south. It is characterized by an extraordinary diversity in topography and climate and is crossed by two major mountain chains, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental. The high central plateau between these two mountain ranges historically funneled most of the human population toward the center of this region. Mexico features volcanic peaks, snow-capped mountains, tropical rain forests, and internationally famous beaches. Mexico City is an enormous metropolitan area and dominates the rest of the country’s culture, economy, and politics. Nearly one-fifth of the nation’s population lives in the immediate vicinity of the capital. Mexico City is also a central hub for Mexico’s transportation network—including railroads, highways, and airlines.

Tourism in Mexico

Mexico’s tourism industry is an essential component of the economy, often helping to sustain economic growth during times when growth is slow in other economic sectors. The government has long had a cabinet-level agency devoted exclusively to expanding and improving tourist facilities. In terms of foreign exchange earnings, tourism often ranks third in importance behind petroleum and manufacturing. Tourists spent $4.3 billion in Mexico in 1998.

Mexico’s most important tourist destinations, other than the capital city itself, are numerous beach resorts. These include: Cancún, an island and resort town just off the Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo; Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlán, all resort cities on Mexico’s Pacific coast; and Los Cabos, a sport fishing and resort center at the end of the peninsula of Baja California in the state of Baja California Sur. Mexico’s border cities are also important tourist attractions and are visited by residents in nearby U.S. states. The most popular of these destinations is Tijuana, just across from San Diego, California. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens regularly visit this community and other border cities on weekends. In 1999 Mexico tallied 19.2 million visits by tourists, with most of the visitors coming from the United States and Canada, other countries in Latin America, or Europe.

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