Mexico's tourism industry is booming again, with revenues well above pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023, although the total number of tourists is still below those figures.
Inegi, Mexico's national statistics agency, has processed data indicating that from January to April 2023, international tourism contributed $10.74 billion to the Mexican economy. This figure is 17% higher than the same period in 2022 and 17.5% higher than in 2019.
In contrast, the total number of arrivals to the country remained slightly lower than in 2019. The 13.24 million tourists who visited Mexico in these four months represent a 13.7% increase over the previous year. However, they are somewhat lower than the 14.7 million visitors in the same period before COVID.
During the first quarter of 2023, international tourists who arrived in Mexico by air spent an average of $1,198, a 3.8% increase from 2022 and a 14% increase from 2019. Even though there was a decrease in the number of tourists arriving by land, the increase in air arrivals offset this decline.
The cruise sector, which was heavily impacted by the pandemic, is recovering well. From January to April, 3.73 million cruise passengers arrived in Mexican ports, a 3.1% increase from 2019. Revenue generated by these passengers increased by 22.3% from 2019 to $306.8 million.
The Ministry highlighted that these figures confirm that "tourism activity in Mexico is on the right track." Tourism is a crucial part of the Mexican economy, accounting for just over 8% of the country's GDP yearly from 2010 to 2019.