New visa requirements for Mexican’s visiting Canada are impeding the tourism industry and the easy access to Jasper as a destination, according to Travel Alberta officials. 

Don Boyton, executive director of corporate communication for Travel Alberta, says the new requirements are a “pretty serious situation.”

“Any barrier impediment to free and easy access to our destination (that is) making it more challenging... making it less easy to get here always has the possibility of affecting visitation,” he said.

In a statement issued by Ottawa, as of July 15 “Mexican nationals will require a visa to travel to Canada” prior to their arrival. 

The government has justified the announcement, which Boyton said he was not aware of until this statement, by stating the volume of refugee claims from Mexico has tripled since 2005.

“The visa requirement I am announcing will give us greater ability to manage the flow of people into Canada and verify bona fides,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenny in the statement. 

Travel Alberta, and its partners – which include Jasper Tourism and Commerce – have been working and developing the Mexican market over the past few years, said Boyton. 

A major success for the tourism industry was the announcement last year that Mexicana Airlines was going to have regular flights to Edmonton and Calgary, which helped to “propel Mexico as a market” said Boyton. Mexico has been classified as an ‘emerging market’ by Travel Alberta, which means visitation has been increasing from the country.

The marketing guru said it was too soon to see the impacts of the new requirements on what was already a slower season, due to the swine flu pandemic and economic situation. However, Travel Alberta has been working with it’s partners to ensure their customers are well informed of the new regulations.

“We won’t see visitation numbers for some time,” he said, “but we’ll be talking with our partners and trying to understand what they’re doing to help Mexicans.”

“We’ve been working with the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) and we’ve been doing a lot of out reach with media, working with the embassy and our partners, including Mexicana Airlines, to make sure they have the right information for their customers.”

Despite the changes in regulations, it’s all systems go as far as marketing is concerned with Travel Alberta marketing programs continuing. 

“But this is the peak time for visitation for Mexico, schools are out and Mexicans do like to travel as a family,” Boyton added. 

A small sign of relief for Mexican Nationals and the tourism industry, is that some airlines have been waiving re-scheduling fees for customers.

“In light of the Canadian government’s decision to require visas of Mexican citizens, Mexicana will be assisting passengers who are booked on flights to Canada by waiving ticket change fees,” read the company’s website.