As of the reopening of the United States land border, the city of Laredo (Texas) expects to close the year with gains comparable to those of 2019, before the pandemic disrupted the economy. The bet is focused on tourism from Mexico, which represents about 90% of this economic activity, according to the Laredo regent, Robert Dead. The offer includes from promotions in businesses, hotels and flights, to vaccines against covid-19 for minors, from the age of five, and reinforcements for adults.
“When they are in the mall doing their shopping or eating their snow outside a store, they give them the vaccine right there and they leave in peace,” says Dead. In this way, Laredo will be able to return to Mexico “at least a little of the much” that it gives him, he says. “For us it is very easy, we do not get complicated in politics, [la vacuna] it is a matter of human rights: you come, you want it, we have it, we give it to you ”, he assures.
The closing of the border for 19 months has caused devastating losses for the city. According to estimates by the president of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, Gabriela Morales, more than 25% of the establishments have had to close and many of them will no longer reopen. To reactivate the commercial activity of which the Mexican is the main consumer, the authorities have launched the Return to Laredo campaign with promotions and discounts in hotels and businesses. “It is estimated that the economic spillover across the nation from December purchases and Black Friday“It will be 800,000 million dollars,” says Morales. More than 500,000 people will be employed to serve consumers for the rest of the year, according to a study by the National Association of Establishments and Supermarkets of the United States.
Before the pandemic, more than a million Mexicans traveled to Laredo each year, but in recent months visitors have arrived by the drop of a hat, says the city’s tourism director, Aileen Ramos. “The only option there was to travel was by flying,” he recalls, “we saw a lot of people traveling because they wanted to get vaccinated.” “We were very pleased that we began to see people that we had not seen in many months who took the opportunity to go out shopping after getting vaccinated ”, he says.
Laredo leads the state in vaccinations with an immunization rate of over 90%, according to Dead. “We were the first to start vaccine tourism, we asked for the permission or forgiveness of the State and we began to give (the doses) to our relatives, to our partners who cross every day and we continue to give them to thousands and thousands of people, ”he explains. According to the regent’s figures, in just one Consulate project, more than 40,000 doses have been applied to Mexicans who work in the maquiladoras in Nuevo Laredo.
To travel to the United States, those over 18 years of age must have the complete vaccination scheme, according to the requirements of the United States Government. In the case of minors, it is not necessary for them to be immunized and they can obtain the doses in any shopping center, supermarket or pharmacy, explains Ramos. They do not need an appointment to receive the puncture and the only requirement is that they be accompanied by a person over 18 years of age. Adults should already be fully vaccinated with WHO-approved vaccines, but they can get a booster.
Foreigners can also be vaccinated at the Laredo airport which has its own clinic with serums available from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna. “Every passenger who arrives can be vaccinated or have a PCR test at no cost,” says the airport spokesman, Manuel De Luna. They only need to carry an identification to be able to complete their vaccination record. To encourage travel, the Aeromar airline has announced a promotion in which children fly for free accompanied by an adult. A year after the launch of the direct flight from Mexico City to Laredo, this Mexican airline also offers a trip for two people for $ 399, in addition to a 50% discount per additional bag.
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