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Black Meetings & Tourism April/May 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 11 BMT NEWS LETTER Treerer ff for forwarding a copy of your publication with Gordon Porter for my review — T O T H E E DI T OR APPRECIATES BM&T'S EDITORIAL CONTENT I hope this email finds you and the entire Black Meetings and Tourism family well, most especially Mrs. Herbert. Please give her my regards. I did not make it to the NCBMP 25th Year celebration; howev- er, I did enjoy spending time with you both last year in Alabama. Although I did not make it to the celebration, your coverage of the event and the history of the organization was wonderful and truly enlightening. The October/November 2008 issue featured an article on Virginia Meeting Venues that was also most enjoyable. The Roanoke Civic Center was included in the piece and we greatly appreciate the exposure. I look forward to the opportunity to have you all visit the Roanoke Valley to uncover the beauty and excite- ment of this well kept secret. Please let me know when you would like to visit, and/or if ever I can be of assistance. Again, I thank you for all of the wonderful work you all do. I anticipate each issue and am never disappointed. Keep up the good work and best wishes for continued success in 2009. Respectfully, Vickie Meeks Miller Convention Sales Manager Roanoke Valley CVB Roanoke, VA APPRECIATES INK Thank you for forwarding a copy of your publication with Gordon Porter for my review — thanks also for the great coverage you provided concerning my recent appoint- ment here to the . As you well know, the African-American meetings and leisure travel market is one that is critical to our community and one of our highest priorities for continued devel- opment, and we look forward to both your continued interest and support, as well as the oppor - L E T T E R S AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE MEXICO TOURISM BOARD Dear American Tourism Industry Partners, As you may know, the media has been stressing news about the violent issues related to drug trafficking in Mexico; howev- er, consumers do understand that these are isolated events tak- ing place in perfectly delimited areas and most of them occur far away from tourist destinations. Mexico continues to have a pos- itive image among American travelers according to studies con- ducted by Y Partnership. The results indicated that people are still traveling, but some of their standards have changed; such as proximity and destinations with good connectivity. At the same time, tourist activity continues to throw favorable numbers; data reported on February 15th, indicates that hotel occupancy rates in the main tourist destinations exceeded those of 2008. News about the reactivation of the travel alert by the U.S. State Department has caused a good deal of controversy; how- ever we consider the importance of putting the situation in con- text. In agreement with Leslie Bassett, Business Representative of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico "the alert does not intend in any way to discard Mexico as a tourist destination, but to inform cit- izens on the precautions to be taken when facing definite violent situations." Mexico is the tenth most visited tourist destination in the world and the first destination for American tourists. As well it's a very large country with safe destinations to visit. It is impor- tant for tourists who visit Mexico to be aware of the importance of using common sense and take the proper precautions that they would in any other country. In addition, it's important to note that the security related to drug trafficking is concentrated in identified cities and not in the tourist destinations. I want to emphasize that it is the Mexican government's top priority to guarantee that our tourists go home with only the best memories of Mexico and that they enjoyed the experience dur- ing their stay in our country. This has been our main focus and that is why year after year we continue to welcome a larger amount of tourists. Mexico remains a safe destination and this is reflected in the almost 23 million tourists that visited us in 2008, of which 18 million of these were Americans, a 5.9 percent increase com- pared to 2007. Tourism is the third source of income for Mexico, and I want to assure you that we will continue working tirelessly to main- tain a positive image for Mexico and to continue receiving tourists from all over the world that choose Mexico as one of the destinations with the greatest diversity of tourism offerings and the highest standard of quality and services Mexico has been tra- ditionally known for. Sincerely, Oscar Fitch CEO Mexico Tourism Board Hidalgo, México