/ Modified apr 17, 2017 8:40 a.m.

Mexican Holiday, Rising Peso Have Tucson Malls Busy

'Semana Santa' gives Mexicans a chance to vacation and shop in Southern Arizona.

mexican shoppers in tucson hero

Tucson shopping malls were busier last week, and will continue to be this week, their parking lots packed with vehicles bearing license plates from Sinaloa, Sonora and other Mexican states.

Retailers in Southern Arizona are enjoying a boost in sales again this week, as shoppers from Mexico take advantage of a spring break that lasts up to two weeks.

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, takes place from Passover to Easter. The number of days off vary, though. Businesses celebrate by giving employees a four-day weekend culminating on Easter Sunday. Mexican primary schools give their students two weeks off.

Many Mexicans will take advantage of whatever days off they have and take a trip to America to shop, a Tucson tourism official said.

Those who make the trip will find their money buys more now than it did a few months ago. The peso has increased in value against the dollar, which, the tourism official said, encourages Mexican shoppers to spend money in places like Tucson.

“It’s really good news for us here in Tucson to see that the peso is starting to gain value, in the last few weeks actually," said Felipe Garcia of Tucson's tourism bureau, Visit Tucson. "It was perfect timing for us.”

A dollar is now worth about 18 pesos. In January, the exchange rate reached nearly 22 pesos to a dollar.

Economists estimate 30 percent of Tucson retail sales are to Mexican shoppers.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona