Tourism activity in Mexico has maintained steady growth, with an increase in revenues from international travelers.
Foreign tourists visiting Mexico come mainly from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and South America.
Here are the revenues from international travelers to Mexico, in millions of dollars, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism:
- 2019: 24,570.
- 2020: 11,000.
- 2021: 19,770.
- 2022: 28,020.
- 2023: 30,700.
- January-June 2024: 17,578.
Revenue from international travelers
With attractive places such as Cancun, the Riviera Maya, Los Cabos, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Oaxaca, Mexico is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world.
Consistently, the country has remained among the top 10 tourist destinations on a global scale.
In 2021, Mexico received around 31 million foreign visitors. This figure grew to 38.3 million in 2022 and reached 42.2 million in 2023, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
Tourism in Mexico
In Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico has led in number of tourists and tourism revenues during 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Thus, the tourism industry is key to the Mexican economy, being one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings.
In the first half of 2024, Mexico’s tourism balance was US$12.719 billion, with revenues of US$17.578 billion and outflows of US$4.859 billion.
The following are Mexico’s outflows per international traveler, in millions of dollars:
- 2019: 9,820.
- 2020: 3,480.
- 2021: 5,150.
- 2022: 7,050.
- 2023: 9,250.
- January-June 2024: 4,859.
Loans
On March 10, 2022, the Ministry of Tourism, together with Nacional Financiera (Nafin) and Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext), launched a new phase of the financing program. This program aims to offer financial resources to SMEs in the tourism sector.
Through a network of financial intermediaries supported by Bancomext and Nafin, companies can access working capital, acquire fixed assets, and make technological and environmental improvements.
As of August 2023, the program has granted more than 150.6 billion pesos in loans. In total, 3,455 companies in the tourism sector have benefited from this financial support.