McALLEN, RGV - Mexican shoppers contribute almost $1 billion to the McAllen economy through purchases at local stores, says Nancy Millar, vice president of the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.
That contribution does not include the money they spend in hotels, etc. If that figure sounds impressive, Millar says it used to be even greater. She said a combination of recent factors has led to a decline in the percentage of retail sales attributable to Mexican shoppers. She said it has dropped from 37 percent to 30 percent.
“It is such an important part of what we do. Birding is great. It brings in $463 million into the Valley every year. Winter Texans are great. They bring in about $750 million into the Valley every year. But the Mexican nationals, that is where we really shine,” Millar said.
“Right now, Mexico, just into McAllen, not the whole Valley, is bringing in almost a billion dollars a year in retail sales. That is without counting the hotel occupancy, the food they eat, a lot of other ancillary costs. That is really our No. 1 area.”
Millar gave the latest statistics in a livestream conversation on Facebook with Rio Grande Guardian publisher Mark Hanna. Millar said the drop-off in visits by Mexican shoppers was hurting the McAllen economy.
“We have been hit hard. The number used to be 37 percent. That was the amount of retail sales attributable to Mexico shoppers. It is now down closer to 30 percent because of all the problems going on in Mexico,” Millar said.
“It really has made a difference and it is hurting us. There is no denying it. Retail sales are off. Hotel occupancy is off. Think about what has happened. The Peso devalued, the rhetoric from Washington, D.C., the oil prices and, the biggest thing, the violence. If they can't make it over here safely then what can we do?”
Millar said the “rhetoric out of Washington” was hurting McAllen in a variety of ways.
“One of the things that has really bothered us a lot is what is coming out of Washington and how it has affected them (Mexican nationals). Think about it, the Mexican residents are not only our customers. They are also our friends. They are also our families. Fifty percent of the people in McAllen have close family ties in Mexico. They are literally family. So, it hurts our hearts that they are feeling unloved,” Millar said.
“It also hurts our hearts if they think that all we want is their money because that has never been true. We have always had so many cultural ties. Of course, we want them to continue to shop but it is so much deeper than that.”
Hanna spoke about some conversations he had recently with Mexican business leaders who are making a valuable contribution to the McAllen and Rio Grande Valley economy. He repeated what they told him, that McAllen could make a statement about the importance of Mexican shoppers by saying to the federal government, if you are going to build a border wall, make sure it is on the north side of McAllen.
“We want it north of McAllen because there is no way you are separating us from Mexico. There is no way that is going to happen, a border wall north of McAllen, we hope not, right? But the aspect of saying, we are going to stand together with our partners, with our family, with our friends, that makes a big impact. Is the Chamber of Commerce in the same boat, that we are standing with our partners to the south?” Hanna asked.
“Yes, absolutely,” Millar replied. “As a matter of fact, about a month ago we started a program with the City of McAllen and MEDC (McAllen Economic Development Corporation) called Amigos Always. That is the exact purpose of it, to let the Mexican nationals know that nothing has changed in McAllen. We still have the same relationships, we still have the same cultural ties. Everything is just the same as it always was, except that maybe we want to be more welcoming because we know that they are hurting, which hurts us.”
The marketing campaign Millar referenced is a $250,000 investment, with funds coming from McAllen Chamber of Commerce, McAllen EDC and the City of McAllen.
“One of the things that Visit McAllen does is it does a significant marketing campaign in specifically the Monterrey area. We don't advertise all the time, we don't have the funds for that, but the most important times of the year we do. So, what we are doing with our campaign over there that is exactly that. Over there, it is called Siempre Amigos,” Millar said.
“We are just making sure they understand that we are still here to serve them. We still have what they are looking for. We still have the American Experience and we still want them and we still respect them. We want them to continue coming. We have been able to do some extra things with this cooperative program that we have with the City and the MEDC, so we have more presence now than we did.”
According to a recent opinion poll conducted in Tamaulipas, the main reason Mexican shoppers do not come to McAllen and the rest of the Valley is violence in border cities such as Reynosa. Hanna asked Millar if the City of McAllen had thought about subsidizing flights from Monterrey so that shoppers from that city could avoid violence in Reynosa.
“We do have a direct flight from Mexico City, Aeromar. We are looking for cooperative programs so we can stretch our funds so we can do as much as we can to get the word out so the Airport has been doing a program in Mexico City to support the Aeromar direct flight. It's really helped. Their load factors are higher than they have ever been. That is working very well for us. Monterrey? I don't know. That is a question for the airport,” Millar responded.
If Monterrey shoppers want to fly in to Reynosa, is there any way a monorail could be built from Reynosa International Airport to downtown McAllen, a way of avoiding violence in Reynosa, Hanna asked.
“It just makes sense to invest in transportation infrastructure. These Mexican business owners say this would be a solution. It would be an economic driver. And it would be a very innovative way for the Valley to transport people. We are not going to allow anybody stop us from continuing to live the lives we are living and if we have to build a monorail or a tunnel we are going to do it,” Hanna said.
Millar said she has not heard of such a proposal. She asked Hanna what he had heard.
“This monorail idea has been talked about. This group of private business owners are willing to put up money. If you want a project to happen, you have to start talking about the ideas,” Hanna said.
In the livestream Facebook conversation, Millar also spoke in depth about the importance of nature tourism to McAllen and the Valley. She said there is strong cooperation locally when it comes to marketing the region.
Editor's Note: The above story is the first in a two-part series based on Mark Hanna's conversation with Nancy Millar. Part Two will focus on Nature Tourism.
