Roberto Monroy Garcia with Rodrigo Esponda
Dolores Repetto, Mexico's deputy consul in Canada
A charming monarch brooch keepsake
Turns out it’s not only humans who flock to Canada each year. Millions (yes, millions) of monarch butterflies make the amazing commute from Eastern Canada, all headed to the state of Michoacán.
The Pacific coast state (south of Manzanillo, north of Ixtapa), is more than a refuge for these delicate creatures. As Roberto Monroy Garcia, Secretary of Tourism for the state, explained during a visit to Toronto last week, the state has 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the monarch butterfly biosphere, over 200 km of coastline - much of it undiscovered beaches, and 8 of the country’s “Magical Towns”, so designated thanks to their natural beauty, historic significance or cultural riches.
All of which dovetails nicely with the tourist board’s latest initiative. “We need to position Mexico as more sophisticated and cultured,” Rodrigo Esponda, Director for Canada of the Mexico Tourism Board told a group of Mexico enthusiasts at Frida Restaurant. “Look for our $5 million campaign of outdoor advertising in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal this year, as well as over a hundred special events across Canada.”
The striking ads – which make you want to run, not walk, to the airport to hop on the next flight, feature cobblestoned streets, majestic canyons, street parades, brimming gardens and fine dining.
Not that Rodrigo is dissatisfied with the numbers from Canada. Over a million tourists from Canada visited Mexico last year - more if you count the monarchs. Business was up 6% between January and June this year. And there are now some 10,000 flights per year from a whopping 27 cities in Canada (though none as yet to Michoacán, which is a 30 min. flight from Mexico City).
Hopefully this growth trend will continue as more Canadians discover that Mexico is far, far more than a beach destination!
