In July, international arrivals in Mexico reached 92% of the 2019 figures, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). The authorities announced that tourism recovers.
The data suggest that in July 2021, 2,021,000 tourists arrived to Mexico from other countries, when in the same month of 2019 the total number of travelers was 2,197,000.
Regarding expenditure, foreign currency spent by international travelers and those who spend the night in hotels showed a 107% increase in July 2021 compared to July 2019.
Last July, total expenditure was US$2 billion, when two years ago it reached US$1.869 billion.
The industry in Mexico has benefited from advanced vaccination campaign and the fact that there are no travel restrictions to limit arrivals from other countries unlike Europe, which continues to be closed for American travelers. As a result, tourists decided not to travel to a limited market, whereas Mexico remains open.
The Center for Research and Tourism Competitiveness (CICOTUR) of the Anahuac University, also agrees that there is a trend of recovery in jobs caused by the reactivation of international travel.
In the report, CICOTUR says that employment in the food and beverage industry reached 627,150 jobs in August 2021, a 15.1% decrease compared to January 2020.
Meanwhile, the hotel industry reports 365,610 jobs following the recovery of international visitors, 12% fewer than before the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the latest data show that due to the pandemic Mexico has lost some 10.1 million domestic tourists in the first six months of this year compared to the same period of 2019. Until June, 19.3 million domestic travelers arrived at Mexican hotels, which is 34.3% less than in the same period in 2019, when there were 29.4 million local visitors.
The domestic market is the main consumer of tourist goods and services, representing 83% of the total demand. The recovery of the sector and the economic activity of most of the country's tourist destinations depends largely on its reactivation.
However, the lag that still affects mainly inland cities is worrying. Domestic tourism shows a marked preference for visiting beach destinations compared to city destinations. Currently, the port of Acapulco, with 2.1 million arrivals of national tourists to hotels in the first semester, has positioned itself as the most important destination in the country for the domestic market.