To fully understand the special preparation needed to service this extraordinary market, which makes up over half of all tourism segments in the world, we must first understand the cruise industry that will bring this segment together in our destination especially because we are the home port. As a home port, we have the opportunity to impress and service the same group of tourists twice during their visit, with the possibility of serving them again during a land vacation later on.

This article is the first in a series forthcoming in monthly slices designed to increase your understanding of not only the cruise industry but other aspects in the mindset of cruisers and how they got here.

All data analyzed in preparation for these articles were researched and culled from reviewing studies, surveys, facts and figures as well as other forms of published material from more than 40 different web sites deemed to be the most reliable and up-to-date industry sources.

In the course of these articles there should be new and relevant information for even the most experienced cruisers among the residents, regular visitors and property owners of Rocky Point; indeed maybe provide a spark of enlightenment as to how you, if so inclined, might become involved in one or more of the incredible business and service opportunities that will present themselves with our fresh world status as not just a new homeport but one that offers the cruising world an itinerary of truly all new ports of call in one of the most diverse seas on our planet.

In addition, you will learn how and why our success as a home port is fairly guaranteed from the very first cruise departure. You will also learn when it's time to 'fasten your seat belts' for the wild ride upward in the future of our little [soon to be not so little] slice of paradise by the sea. Depending on the extent of your desire to become involved in the history of our destination, the time to fasten your seat belt just might be right now!

To illustrate the direct and indirect economic impact of cruise tourism on the residents, businesses and municipality in a home port destination, let us begin with a statistical picture of the cruise industry worldwide, continent wide and state wide, thus giving us a better understanding of where Puerto Pe�asco will fit into this complex segment of tourism that is poised to fulfill our destiny as a world class destination resort.

The cruise line industry has grown continually since its officially recognized inception that began with a three month cruise around the Mediterranean in 1891 carrying 241passengers. The industry continued to constantly grow and contribute to world economies until 1970, the year the industry carried 500,000 cruisers and reached the so difficult to determine "Critical Mass", that point when growth surges exponentially with a life of its own, and the cruise industry has never looked back since.

In fact, since 1970 the cruise passenger market has grown a phenomenal 2,100 percent, from the 500,000 passengers in 1970 to an estimated 21.3 million in 2013.  The flood of exponential growth stabilized in the '80's and '90's to a more manageable consistency; even through the world economic downturn of the last several years, growth has continued averaging 7.4% annually...

Another statistic that bodes well for the future of cruise tourism for Puerto Pe�asco is that of those 21.3 million cruisers, 55 to 60% were from the U.S. This remarkable statistic is even more extraordinary when you consider that of the 2,000 ports of embarkation around the world, only 30 are located in the U.S.  In other words, Americans continue to drive worldwide tourism growth, and will continue to do so as long as the cruise lines keep introducing new cruise ships to the market. And we can count on new ships arriving for service as long as occupancy continues to average 104% like it has for the last decade.

So far the cruise lines have kept up with demand by investing billions of dollars in new ships annually, having delivered 167 new ships from 2000 through February 2013. These include sizes varying in capacity from riverboats that carry just 32 passengers up to the mega-vessels that carry 5,400 passengers and serve as a floating destination with hundreds of unbelievable amenities at a cost of more than a billion dollars each!(worthy of detailing in future stories). On order for delivery between 2014 and 2016 are 22 more ships representing investments of more than $14 billion.

We'll close Part I of this series with a few more facts that may surprise you, even excite many who have a business interest in mind for the anticipated tourism influx:

• Revenue for the US economy in 2012 was $37.85 billion.
• Cruise industry is responsible for 314,000.U.S. jobs
• Avg annual growth rate of the cruise industry since 1980 is 7.4%
• Average age of cruise passengers is 50+ (or 46 depending on source)
• Average household earnings of cruisers is $109,000 ($93,000 depending on source)
• Another amazing fact is that only 19.9% (or 24% depending on source) of Americans have taken a cruise. (Adds a reason for cruise lines to spend a billion dollars on one ship.)
• 80% of cruise passengers think it's a great way to sample destinations.(Excellent reason to have our "ducks in a row" from the very first cruise.)
• Average length of a cruise is 7.2 days
• Average length of land stay at home port destinations prior to cruise departure is 1.5 days (Expenditure per pax averages $155.62.-does not include expenditures after returning from cruise)
• Average size of cruising party is 2.1 passengers.
• The states producing the most cruise passengers are Florida, California, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Arizona and Georgia. (Having three states in the top ten markets within driving distance to our home port is a cruise line's dream!)

Part II of our Home Port economic impact study will further detail statistics as they relate to the direct and indirect economic benefits we can expect from the cruise lines and passengers; including results of exclusive interviews with behind-the-scenes leaders who know the facts about how the development is to roll out. We will also provide the statistics on how and where the dollars spent by tourists and cruise lines are circulated. (Hint: Each tourism dollar spent circulates through the local economy 7 to 15 times.)

Visit by our Governor:

Following is an update on the visit and inspection of the Home Port progress by Governor Guillermo Padr�s on Wednesday January 29th 2014 showing the progress just since this story was posted earlier this month.

Governor Padr�s spoke to a crowd of 300-400 interested and involved citizens, municipal officials and dozens of press representatives. Frankly, the excitement was hard to suppress as officials representing the President of Mexico gave highly charged expressions of support and commitment by the country's leader.

Some of the salient points included:

• Review of the continued financial commitment by the state and federal governments. 190 million pesos were invested last year; and 300 million pesos will be invested this year.
• The port dock is being built to accommodate three cruise ships to be prepared for the anticipated growth. It will take over 600,000 cubic meters to extend the dock out one kilometer from the shore.
• Governor animatedly referred to the Home Port as the seed that will detonate phenomenal growth in this region that will spread through the state and the country. It will make Rocky Point a privileged place with plenty of jobs and a positive future. The crowd responded very favorably to those words.
• Governor also emphasized that "The best is yet to come", and "We proved that dreams do come true" as he referred to the economic downfall of 2006-2009 and how the community and the state chose to walk fearlessly in support of the Home Port moved boldly forward in spite of drastic economic conditions.
• Now that it is all coming together, the governor thanked the citizens of Puerto Pe�asco for working together in support of this monumental project that will create steady and stable tourism visitorship that will benefit each and every person in the municipality and the region.

The flood of North American crude oil is set to become a deluge as Mexico dismantles a 75-year-old barrier to foreign investment in its oil fields.

Plagued by almost a decade of slumping output that has degraded Mexico's take from a $100-a-barrel oil market, President Enrique Pena Nieto is seeking an end to the state monopoly over one of the biggest crude resources in the Western Hemisphere. The doubling in Mexican oil output that Citigroup Inc. said may result from inviting international explorers to drill would be equivalent to adding another Nigeria to world supply, or about 2.5 million barrels a day.

That boom would augment a supply surge from U.S. and Canadian wells that Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) predicts will vault North American production ahead of every OPEC member except Saudi Arabia within two years. With U.S. refineries already choking on more oil than they can process, producers from Exxon to ConocoPhillips are clamoring for repeal of the export restrictions that have outlawed most overseas sales of American crude for four decades.

"This is going to be a huge opportunity for any kind of player" in the energy sector, said Pablo Medina, a Latin American upstream analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. in Houston. "All the companies are going to have to turn their heads and start analyzing Mexico."

An influx of Mexican oil would contribute to a glut that is expected to lower the price of Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world's crude that has averaged $108.62 a barrel this year, to as low as $88 a barrel in 2017, based on estimates from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Five of the seven analysts who provided 2017 forecasts said prices would be lower than this year.

The revolution in shale drilling that boosted U.S. oil output to a 25-year high this month will allow North America to join the ranks of the world's crude-exporting continents by 2040, Exxon said in its annual global energy forecast on Dec. 12. Europe and the Asia-Pacific region will be the sole crude import markets by that date, the Irving, Texas-based energy producer said.

Related: Oil Supply Surge Brings Calls to Ease U.S. Export Ban 

Exxon's forecast, compiled annually by a team of company economists, scientists and engineers, didn't take into account any changes in Mexico, William Colton, the company's vice president of strategic planning, said during a presentation at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Dec. 12.

Opening Mexico's oilfields to foreign investment would be "a win-win if ever there was one," said Colton, who described the move as "very good for the people of Mexico and people everywhere in the world who use energy."

Mexico Invites Foreigners to Boost Drilling 

The bill ending the state monopoly was approved by the Mexican Congress Dec. 12. Before becoming law, the proposal must be ratified by state assemblies, most of which are controlled by proponents of the reform. Oil companies will be offered production-sharing contracts, or licenses where they get ownership of the pumped oil and authority to book crude reserves for accounting purposes. The contracts will be overseen by government regulators.

Though some foreign companies already operate in Mexico under service contracts with Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, the reform could increase foreign investment by as much as $15 billion annually and boost potential economic growth by half a percentage point, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a Nov. 28 report. 

Sonora, Mexico

There's a place just south of the Arizona border where a field of 400, four-million-year-old volcanic craters dent the earth and sand made from rock as far away as the Grand Canyon cascades down dunes over 300 feet tall. This place is El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere, also known as Sierra Del Pinacate.

This place is the antithesis of a tourist trap. It's the kind of place that draws extreme adventurers like astronauts needing a place to train in lunar-like conditions. But in these seemingly desolate, pockmarked surroundings, Pinacate is booming with biodiversity. Fringe-toed lizards skim the sizzling sand and the Costa's hummingbird braves the desert to suck from native, nectar-filled ocotillo plants, alongside close to 300 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, not to mention over 500 plants. In fact, the area gets its name from the foul-smelling Pinacate beetle.

Adventurous spirits will want to start their trek to Pinacate from its sister park at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona, where the staffs of both parks keep a protective eye on the Sonoran pronghorn. Head south on Arizona's Route 85 and continue down Mexico's Federal Highway 8 to the reserve's main entrance for unparalleled hiking, climbing and biking.

Best Time to Visit:

Pinacate is in the hottest part of the Sonoran Desert; so visiting in spring and winter would be best. If you time your visit with a visit to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, its most popular months are December through March when temperatures are in the 60s.

What to Do:

If you've ever been to the State Fair, you have surely eaten a churro or two. These sweet treats are a favorite at all types of carnivals, fairs, or any gathering where the people crave something fast, sweet and delicious. They are abundant throughout Mexico and can vary quite a bit depending on region and preparer.  

History is divided on how exactly churros came to exist. Some say they were the invention of nomadic Spanish shepherds. Living high in the mountains with no access to bakeries, the Spanish shepherds supposedly created churros, which were easy for them to cook in frying pans over fire. Lending credibility to this version of history is the fact that there exists a breed of sheep called the "Navajo-Churro", which are descended from the "Churra" sheep of the Iberian Peninsula; the horns of these sheep look similar to the fried pastry.

Another story says that Portuguese sailors discovered a similar food in Northern China called "You Tiao" and they brought it back with them. The Spanish learned of the new culinary treat from their neighbors, and put their own spin on it by passing the dough through a star-shaped tip which gives the churro its signature ridges.

Whether Spanish shepherds, Portuguese sailors or the Chinese get the credit for inventing the churro, it was the conquistadors who introduced them to Latin America. Since then, the modern day churro has undergone various reincarnations including guava-filled churros in Cuba, dulce de leche-filled churros in Mexico and a cheese-filled version in Uruguay.

Straight or spiral-shaped, with or without a dusting of cinnamon and sugar, dipped in chocolate or straight out of a greasy paper bag on the street, churros, in all their creative variations, will continue to be a popular favorite - and with a recipe in hand, you can have one whenever you feel like it. And, they couldn't be easier to make. 

See you again next month. Until then, enjoy life. Remember that you will never again be as young as you are today. Come and visit Puerto Penasco if you get a chance. You'll be glad that you did.   

Saludos, Jim Ringquist