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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">OTTAWA - Mexican travellers and the Canadian tourism industry that serves them were sent into panic mode Tuesday after the sudden announcement of a new visa requirement for visitors from that country.
<span style="font-weight: bold">The visa requirement was also applied to citizens entering Canada from the Czech Republic, after a two-year reprieve. Both decisions were based on a growing number of refugee claims.
The Czech government responded by recalling its ambassador to Canada and imposing visa requirements on Canadian diplomats and business travellers. </span>
But it was the Mexican visa requirement, announced by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney late Monday, that's causing the most waves.
Mexico was the sixth-largest source of tourists to Canada last year, with 266,000 visitors, and the numbers had been steadily increasing.
Finding a Mexican visiting Parliament Hill, for example, is as easy as tuning in to Spanish chatter around the Peace Tower or the Eternal Flame.
"This has been a difficult year for our country," said Larissa Montiel of Mexico City, part of a group of high school teachers visiting for a month.
"There's the swine flu, and people shutting their doors to us, and now these immigration problems. It's sad for us."
Miriam Llorete was visiting her brother, who works for the Canadian government.
"It's one more thing that you need to do, so it's going to be hard to come and visit you," said Llorete, who came with her daughter and mother from Mazatlan.
Tour operators, hotel owners and other Canadian businesses that depend on Mexican tourism described the decision as a "bomb" that would affect both their revenues and their staffing levels.
The industry is calling on the Conservative government to delay the visa requirement until November, to allow it to cope with the change.
Hume Rogers of Ottawa's Capital Hotel and Suites had 25 rooms booked for 10 days this month with a Mexican tour group.
"What really hurts about this is that there was no warning at all ... and all of a sudden, basically the day the doors were supposed to open on the beginning of the peak season, they're being shut in our face a little bit."
But Mexico is also the largest source of refugee claims in Canada - 9,400 last year, with only 11 per cent deemed legitimate.
Kenney said in an interview that there has already been a 50 per cent rise in claims in 2009.
He blamed the claims on unscrupulous operatives in Mexico who charge for advice on how to successfully launch a refugee claim in Canada.
"We regret the decision ourselves. We'd rather have visa-free travel, and Mexico is an important partner and friend of Canada's," Kenney said.
"However the reality is that even though we've had ongoing discussions with the Mexican authorities over this problem, it's gotten worse not better."
Refugee advocates slammed the decision, saying it would block people who are fleeing life-threatening situations in both Mexico and the Czech Republic. Human rights organizations continue to document persecution and systemic discrimination of the Roma minority in the Czech Republic.
Geraldine MacDonald, president of the Refugee Lawyers Association, said the government has been slow to fill vacancies on the Immigration and Refugee Board, making it the real architect of an application backlog.
"To take this action against these two countries specifically on the grounds that there is a high volume of refugee claims from these countries is contrary to the human rights principles and sense of justice that Canada stands for," MacDonald said in a statement.
In Mexico City, people with plans to visit Canadian cities this summer flooded the Canadian Embassy and their travel agents with calls, trying to figure out what they needed to do to get their documents on time. A 48-hour grace period for Mexicans with imminent travel was to expire at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday.
A source with Citizenship and Immigration said the embassy had established two lines for dealing with the hundreds who had showed up to inquire about the visa applications - one to hand out forms and the other to receive filled out packages and the $85 cheques.
The process was being expedited for people with imminent travel plans, seasonal workers and students. The government plans to begin an advertising campaign to bring Mexicans up to speed on the change, and open visa offices in other cities.
Carla Rosa, director of GrupoTravel's head office in Mexico City, called the situation a "mess," saying that many clients were vacationing outside of the capital or country and were not in a position to suddenly apply for a visa.
"There's a lot of uncertainty and people are upset," said Rosa. "It surprised all of us, and there are passengers who had been considering tour packages to Canada who are now deciding they shouldn't bother."
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