Friends：
WelcometoMexico.WeareverypleasedtoreceiveyouinthisbeautifulportintheMexicanPacificBasin.
Asthehostcountry，weconsiderthismeetinganexcellentopportunitytostrengthenandbroadenourtiesinthefieldoftourism，aswellastoincreasethelinksofcooperation.
Atthismeeting，theministersresponsiblefortourismwillexchangeinformation，opinionsandexperienceswhichwillmakeitpossibletostrengthenpublicpoliciesimproveandtherebymembercountries'economies.TheagreementsandresolutionsstemmingfromthismeetingwillcontributetotheSummitMeetingtobeheldthiscomingOctoberinLosCabos，BajaCaliforniaSur.
Theworkingagendaofthisimportantmeetingofministershasfocusedonobtainingresultsinfourmajorareas：facilitationforcompaniesandinvestmentintourism；increaseintouristmobilityandtheirdemandfortourismgoodsandservices；sustainabledevelopmentoftourismprojectsanddefinitionoftourismasafundamentaltoolforeconomicandsocialdevelopment.
Prominentonthisagendaisrespectfortheenvironmentandforthecultureandtraditionsofpeoples，regionsandtouristdestinations，whicharetheethicalandpoliticalbasisforanytourismdevelopmentprojectintheAsia-Pacificregionandthegeneralframeworkforitsfuturegrowth.
Thus，APECrespondsandadaptstochangesintheglobalandregionaleconomy，whichratifiesthepointsagreeduponatlastyear'smeeting：theleaders'declarationagainstterrorism，theShanghaiAccordandAPEC'sstrategyfortheneweconomy.
Duetotheadverseinternationaleconomicconditionsweexperiencedin2001，theflowoftouristsintheworldamountedtoalmost700millionarrivals，afigure0.6percentlowerthanintheprecedingyear.However，theprospectsforthisyeararepositiveandundoubtedlypointtowardarecoveryofthisactivity，withitsconsequentmultiplyingeffectsonotherbranchesoftheeconomy.
InMexico'scase，amostfavorableevolutionofitsmainvariableshasenabledittomaintainacleareconomicstability，which每addedtoourenormouspotentialofnatural，culturalandhumanresources每hasmadeitpossibletosustainoureighthpositionworldwideintouristarrivals，aswellastwelfthplaceintheattractionofforeigncurrencyfromtourism.AsMexicans，weaspiretoincreasedforeigninvestmentinindustryandservices，tourismincludedinthelatter.Andthereforetourismisapriorityforourcountry.
Today，MexicohasmagnificenttourismprojectsonthePacific，suchastheNauticalLadderintheGulfofCaliforniaandthosebeingdevelopedinLoreto，LosCabos，Vallarta，Manzanillo，NuevoVallarta，Ixtapa，AcapulcoandHuatulco，amongothers，whichhavemajorvalueasattractiveoptionsforinvestmentandbusiness.
Atthesametime，wehavearichancestralcultureintheregion，madeupofthearcheologicalzonesofcentralandsoutheasternMexico，andjewelsofcolonialarchitecturesuchasthoseofZacatecasandGuanajuato，tomentiononlyafew.Furthermore，UNESCOhasrecognizedcitiessuchasMoreliaandOaxaca，amongothers，asCulturalHeritageofHumanity.
Friends：
Mexico'sparticipationinAPECdatesbackto1993，andsincethenthismechanismhasbeenanactiveareaofourforeignpolicyandofthepromotionforgreatertourism，tradeandinvestmentexchangeswiththerestofthecountriesoftheAsia-Pacificregion.
IamverypleasedbyMexico'sactiveparticipationandIcongratulateallthetourismministersandrepresentativesoftheAPECmembercountriesheretodayfortheirenormousandconstanteffortsinfavoroftourismactivities.