During the past Holy Week season, Nuevo León recorded a massive influx of visitors to its natural areas thanks to its promotional efforts. According to the director of Codetur, the five main state parks — Cola de Caballo, Grutas de García, Grutas de Bustamante, El Salto de Zaragoza, and Parque el Cuchillo — received approximately 53,000 people. To this figure, another 9,000 who visited La Estanzuela are added. "The truth is that there was a very good response from the people of Nuevo León and visitors," noted Morales. She stated that the "Arráncate por Nuevo León" program has been key for both tourists and locals to enjoy the nature of the State. With the upcoming World Cup in mind, the Tourism Development Corporation (Codetur) has initiated a strategy of collaboration with various states in the country to boost the flow of visitors and let them know the attractions of the host entity. Alejandra Morales, director of Codetur, revealed that the corporation is weaving a network of support with other states that will not be World Cup hosts to attract fans to the region's natural wonders. The official highlighted that they seek to create a direct connection with other entities so that tourists attending the sporting event do not limit themselves to events in the stadium, but explore the north of Mexico. "We have had a lot of synergy with other states that do not have a World Cup so that they can do this... connect and visit Nuevo León," she explained. Among the entities with which talks have been maintained are Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Guerrero. This connectivity strategy, Morales emphasized, seeks for visitors to have diverse activities, as although thousands will enjoy the matches inside the BBVA Stadium, Codetur is in charge of creating attractions for everyone who arrives in the entity. "We are in charge of making diverse activities that will allow all the people who come to visit you to have an attraction, not only tourist, but also World Cup," said the director. As part of these preparations, Nuevo León will take a proposal focused on the World Cup and its state parks to the next Tourism Tianguis in Acapulco, which will be held from April 27 to 30. Training of Tourism Ambassadors A fundamental pillar of this strategy is the training of the nearly 5,000 FIFA volunteers who will operate in the State. Morales highlighted that these volunteers will receive specific training about local destinations and will have a special discount card. "We accompany them from the governmental side so that they can get to know the tourist attractions... because nobody can talk about a destination they don't know," she assured. Positive balance in the holiday season The tourism dynamism is already evident in the most recent figures.
