I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 951 

To promote bilateral tourism through cooperation between the United States 

and Mexico. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2019 

Mr. CUELLAR (for himself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To promote bilateral tourism through cooperation between 

the United States and Mexico. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States-Mexico 

5 Tourism Improvement Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States and Mexico have bene9 fitted economically from a bilateral, mutually beneVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:44 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H951.IH H951

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1 ficial partnership focused on enhancing the tourism 

2 industry in both countries. 

3 (2) In 2016, Mexican tourism to the United 

4 States peaked at 18,990,585 visitors, constituting 1 

5 in 4 (24.9 percent) of all tourists that year. 

6 (3) Additionally, in 2016, spending by Mexican 

7 tourists in the United States totaled $20.3 billion, 

8 which represented a 3 percent growth from 2015. 

9 (4) Tourist activity to the United States from 

10 Mexico has declined since 2016, which is in contrast 

11 to an overall international tourism industry increase 

12 in the United States. 

13 (5) In 2017, international tourist arrivals to14 taled 76,900,000, up 0.7 percent from 76,400,000 in 

15 2016. 

16 (6) The same year, 77,000,000 international 

17 visitors spent a record $251.4 billion on hotels, trav18 el, food, and souvenirs, a 2-percent increase over 

19 2016. 

20 (7) However, also in 2017, there was a 6.1-per21 cent decline in visitors to the United States from 

22 Mexico, comprising a loss of 1,166,585 Mexican 

23 tourists from 2016. 

24 (8) The Department of Commerce has not yet 

25 released 2017 spending totals by Mexican tourists in 


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1 the United States, but a corresponding monetary de2 cline would be approximately $1.24 billion in lost 

3 revenue. 

4 (9) This is a critical economic trend given that 

5 Mexico is the biggest source of international visitors 

6 to the United States after Canada. 

7 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

8 It is the policy of the United States— 

9 (1) to continue deepening bilateral tourism 

10 through governmental cooperation between the 

11 United States and Mexico; 

12 (2) to improve third-party tourism to the 

13 United States and Mexico through joint inter14 national promotional efforts; and 

15 (3) to seek to prioritize and expand the tourism 

16 industries in both countries by emphasizing ex17 changes in various international economic sectors, 

18 including relating to— 

19 (A) hospitality and accommodation; 

20 (B) retail; 

21 (C) medical procedures; 

22 (D) dental care; and 

23 (E) cultural education. 


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1 SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO EXPAND BILATERAL TOURISM 

2 THROUGH COOPERATION WITH MEXICO. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall de4 velop a strategy through the High Level Economic Dia5 logue (HLED) platform to carry out the bilateral tourism 

6 policy described in section 3 and to encourage the Govern7 ment of Mexico to take reciprocal action relating to bilat8 eral tourism. 

9 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub10 section (a) shall— 

11 (1) encourage more joint tourism initiatives be12 tween the United States and Mexico, including col13 laborations between governmental and non-govern14 mental entities; 

15 (2) encourage United States and Mexican non16 profit institutions and private businesses to assist 

17 prospective and developing entrepreneurs in 

18 strengthening their business skills in the United 

19 States and Mexico; and 

20 (3) assess the feasibility of fostering partner21 ships between medical and dental institutions in the 

22 United States and Mexico, including hospitals, clin23 ics, medical schools, and dental programs, for the 

24 purpose of allowing patients greater ease and sense 

25 of security when considering cross-border medical 

26 procedure and dental care options. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

3 submit to Congress a report on the strategy required 

4 under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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