Tourism activity has established itself as a powerful engine in Mexico's economy and development since it rose from 17th to ninth place in foreign exchange capture in 2021. Last year, 28 billion dollars in tourism revenue was reported, 14 percent more than before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023 the expected tourism income will be more than 31 billion dollars.
Mexico’s COVID-19 policies during the pandemic, including the non-restriction of international flights, paid off since the country’s decline in tourism revenue was only 46 percent compared to the 73 percent worldwide decline and the 86 percent in the 20 powers that compete with Mexico from the economic perspective.
In addition, Mexico was the only country that did not cancel its main tourism fair and innovated with the Digital Tourism Tianguis that was attended by more than 61 nations; and during the health crisis, permanent contact was maintained with tour operators from the two country’s main source markets: The United States and Canada.
As a result, Mexico was positioned in second place in 2022 in the arrival of international tourists. However, other nations are expected to recover positions.
The tourism policy, together with the actions implemented during the pandemic, resulted in the historical records achieved in 2022, with earnings of 28 billion dollars in foreign exchange from tourism, which represents 14% more than in 2019.
Likewise, the highest figure in Foreign Direct Tourism Investment was registered at three thousand 447 million dollars, exceeding 216 percent more than in 2019 and far exceeding the historical figure reached in 2017.
Experts stress that Tourism Tianguis has been surpassing year after year since Acapulco 2019, Mérida 2021, Acapulco 2022, and the great success of Tourism Tianguis Mexico 2023 in Mexico City that broke all records and marked a milestone in the history of Mexico’s tourism.
2023 Forecast
In the first two months of the year, the number of foreign tourists is 5.4 percent less compared to the same period in 2019, as reported by the Survey of International Travelers of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi). The report indicates that in the first two months of this year, the country visited 6.4 million international tourists, about 371 thousand travelers less than in the same period of 2019. However the Government of Mexico highlighted that during this year, more than 39.4 million foreign tourists are expected, which would mean 2.7% more than what was registered in 2022.