Let Mexico's Narcos be Damned. Tequila Billionaires Plan a 5-Star Tourist Mecca Blake Schmidt - Bloomberg
go to original February 8, 2016

The heirs to the family that has run the José Cuervo tequila empire for 250 years are mapping plans to transform their dusty Mexican hometown into a ritzy tourist spot, complete with five-star hotels and a cultural center.

In some ways, the marketing appeal of the spot is obvious. The town’s name is, after all, Tequila, and it is here that the liquor was first created in the 16th century out of the blue agave plants that dot Mexico’s western central highlands.

But there’s just one hitch: A powerful drug cartel operates nearby. Massacres and executions, including the 2013 killing of the state’s top tourism official, aren’t uncommon. Company officials are undaunted; they say the drug lords tend to leave tourists alone and Mexico is a safe destination for travel.

...Turning a dilapidated area of Mexico into northern California is part of the family’s strategy to extend the José Cuervo brand — often seen as a favorite of frat houses everywhere — into a more upscale category. Formidable challenges await, and not only from the drugs lords whose activities prompted the U.S. to warn its citizens last year about traveling around in parts of Jalisco, the state where Tequila is located.

Read the rest at El Daily Post

Photo: Gabriel Saldana

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