How many Snowbirds in MX?

[Belgique]

A friend just asked how many Americans snowbird in MX? I answered with probably bogus numbers and commented that there were a lot more Canadians than US. I guessed US in the hundreds and CA in the thousands.

My numbers were WAGs. Interested in more scientific guesses (SWAGs).

FWIW: there's one other rig here in Buganville, Guanajuato. SMA was full (Holy Week). SLP had one other on 2 occasions.

[Belgique]

There were 4 or so at SMA during Semana Santa.

[clarlk]

navegator wrote:
Some of the Mexicans are discovering the RV status quo, owning one and using it is becoming a fad for many, there is a club in Ciudad Satelite that has about 16 owners and they travell in a caravan to sites in Mexico, one of my neighbors has a big class A, so you will start to see more and more Mexican plated RV's at camphrounds.

navegator

The Biggest problem with Mexican Owned RV they need to Be Imported... with the new Vehicle Import laws .. a Big expense .. 300,000 folks just visited Mazatlan... seen only one Mex RV in Very rough shape with no plates..

[navegator]

Some of the Mexicans are discovering the RV status quo, owning one and using it is becoming a fad for many, there is a club in Ciudad Satelite that has about 16 owners and they travell in a caravan to sites in Mexico, one of my neighbors has a big class A, so you will start to see more and more Mexican plated RV's at camphrounds.

navegator

[Belgique]

clarlk wrote:
With rent so Cheap. there are many Americans and Canadians just renting Apt, condo and Homes ... I can travel By car or bus and stay in hotels cheaper than pulling my RV with me ... There is over a Million Americans retired in Mexico Now.... RV parks a Bad Biz.. considering the Value of the Land.. a seasonal Biz where the park is not full will not make anyone a living let alone maintain the park.. Mazatlan had over 700 sites at its boom times now ???

Amen. Many RV'ers are cheap and haggle over the smallest of things. Anyone that has run a business knows that fixed expenses (taxes, permits, insurance, base charges for utilities...) go on if you have 0 clients or 100. Awful hard to keep motivated to do the preventive maintenance and open and close gates and security and wifi and then put up with clients who nickle and dime. Oh, I'm not going to use electric, water, sewer, so, essentially, let me stay free. Its not just a Mexico thing...thought about installing some pads on our waterfront property in NC and quickly decided we didn't want the hassle of dealing with many of our brethren.

[clarlk]

With rent so Cheap. there are many Americans and Canadians just renting Apt, condo and Homes ... I can travel By car or bus and stay in hotels cheaper than pulling my RV with me ... There is over a Million Americans retired in Mexico Now.... RV parks a Bad Biz.. considering the Value of the Land.. a seasonal Biz where the park is not full will not make anyone a living let alone maintain the park.. Mazatlan had over 700 sites at its boom times now ???

[stanbnv]

We were in Laguna del Tule between Christmas and New Years in 2014 and during that week there were at least 5 Mexican owned RVs ranging from old class C,s to one fairly new class A with a trailer full of quads. There are several Mexican owned trailers and 5th wheels in La Peñita, although most are stored during the summer.

[qtla9111]

X2

[tepetapan]

Mexicans tend to spend their money on things other than an RV, they enjoy being waited on and pampered. But then again, so do some RVers. Ok, let's say they tend to invest money that has real value where as RVing as a life style there is little (or no) appreciation in the investment. It is a life style that in Mexico still screams "too poor to stay at a hotel".
It is no different that the USA or Canada, people do it, when it is within the range of their finances, because they like the idea. It is a niche class up North and will be the same forever here in Mexico.

[robatthelake]

Just a second here folks,what I'm seeing this year is a transition taking place in the more popular areas as the Mexican Nationals and their rapidly rising Middle Class have grown in huge numbers.
These folks have lots of disposable income and are filling the Holiday Destinations all along the West Coast of Mexico!
They are also discovering the RV and Glamping lifestyle so that They are the people filling the decently run RV Parks!
The Park that We have been using as Our Base Camp for the past dozen Years has lost most of the Canadian and Americans who dominated these choice sites and as it stands today the park is doing much better financially catering to the Mexican Families who flock here every Holiday and weekend.
It is no longer a niche market primarily supported by Canadians and Americans . Certainly there will still be a few more years for those of Us still enjoying the lifestyle, but Our Days are numbered.

[qtla9111]

mexicoruss wrote:
Don't sell Mexico short we are on the rebound.

I would never do that, Mexico is one of two loves of my life. But the reality is, rving has never been big business in Mexico.

Until Mexicans adopt it in mass like the U.S., it will always be a niche market. That's not a bad thing. Some people can make a very good living at it and being a niche market is a good market to be in. It says that a person or business caters to a specific market.

OTOH, Mexico has always been a big tourist destination, and that definitely continues to grow along with foreigners moving to Mexico full time.

BTW, Did I say "market" enough? 🙂

[mexicoruss]

Fear is king..
Having said that I can report that in Rocky Point we have about 500 spaces available in parks that sit on the water, not that every space is water front but the parks are. From Mid October to about the end of March/early April the parks on average are about 50-60% full. On average. The Playa Bonita runs almost totally full from November until April. I was just there tonight and it was at least 90%. The Reef RV park on the same beach runs a lot less full about 25%, it has bigger spaces but is further out of town. Yesterday I was at Playa de Oro. It is on a different beach in a different part of town but it looked to be over 50% full at least. When you combine all three parks the % is pretty close to what I said at the beginning. Now it used to be they were busy 100% from Oct to April. Then it went to where there was nobody here a few years ago, then the last 2 years we see a resurgence. It will take time for the Rving community to realize that all is OK. In that period though some RV parks will close. So I feel that we will again see the day when the parks are full again partly because Rvers are coming back (may not be the same generation as now) and the fact that there are fewer parks to choose from. On a side note because of the change in the RV demand, 50 amp service is available here in Peñasco, also there is a new RV park being built right now just off the water and a new luxury RV park planned to be developed on the water in town. Don't sell Mexico short we are on the rebound.

[briansue]

Personally I think RVing in Mexico has dropped off considerably since we began touring in our current motorhome. Not that long ago it was difficult to get into many RV parks. Today most RV parks are almost empty other than those along the west coast and Baja. We mostly travel the mainland and only one place I can think of causes us to think we need to make reservations. Most places we just show up and have not problem finding a spot. We have been places where Canadians outnumber US citizens by almost 10 to 1. There seems to be a lot of fear on the part of those in the US about Mexico. We talk to people in RV parks in the US who see our map showing our Mexico travels who seem almost terrified to cross the border. I find it very strange that so many in the US seem to live in fear of just about everything these days.

[qtla9111]

Rving in Mexico is a niche market.

[Tequila]

Lots of French Canadians. The company I wagon master for is running its first French speaking caravan to Yucatan next season. They signed up 45 rigs camped in Melaque, pV & Lod de Marcos from people already camped in Mexico, and only have 15 spots. Quebecois seem to love caravans.

[moisheh]

According to the Churches it was not more than a thousand. I would guess it is even less today. Caravans might raise those numbers slightly.

Moisheh