New figures from the Mexican tourist board have proved vacations to the country are increasing with visitor figures and revenues up in the first quarter.

Mexico’s Tourism Secretariat (Sectur) said that the country’s revenues in the first three months of the year reached $3.758 billion - 14.6 per cent more than the corresponding period for 2006.

And Mexico’s secretary of tourism was keen to emphasise that the new figures underlined American’s continuing interest in the country as a tourism destination.

Rodolfo Elizondo said: “These numbers demonstrate that requiring a passport has not deterred Americans from travelling to Mexico.”

During the first quarter of 2007 there were 3.6 million international tourism arrivals, which was an increase of 8.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2006.

There was also a surge in the number of visitors to Mexico by cruise ships. Some 78,000 more people entered the country by cruise ship in the first quarter of 2007 when compared to the first three months of 2006.

When planning a vacation make sure you always have a full travel insurance policy for peace of mind.

Contributed by J.Coggans