According to the Mexican Ministry of Tourism, the first half of 2014 was the best period of tourism in Mexico history. The number of international tourists, foreign exchange earnings and tourism balance reached record levels.
The Bank of Mexico reported that the number of international tourists arriving in the country exceeded 14.2 million, which is a new record at this time. The foreign exchange earnings from international visitors to Mexico also reached a record high toping 8,435 million dollars, a level never seen before.
According to their statement, the tourism balance showed a surplus of 92,400,000 dollars, which is a record for a period of January-June. The federal agency said that the number of international visitors reached 39.4 million as of June this year, increasing 2.8 percent compared to the first half of 2013.
According to Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA) during the first half of 2014 the number of air passengers reached 24.1 million and increased by 9.7 compared to the same period of 2013. The arrival of domestic passengers exceeded 15.3 million people, representing an increase of 9.1 percent compared to January-June last year, while the number of domestic flights increased 5.4 percent.
The Tourism Ministry says that 8.8 million passengers were recorded on international flights, an increase of 10.7 percent over the first half of 2013. The result was accompanied by a greater number of international flights which increased by 7.3 percent in the same period.
Migration Policy Unit of the Ministry of Interior announced that Americans took the largest share of international arrivals to Mexico with 56.5 percent of the total. Canadians followed with 15.3 percent, while Latin Americans, Caribbean and Brazilians stand for 2.1 percent.