Mexico’s Tourism Smashes Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2023

While many places in the world are still recovering from the devastating effects that the pandemic had on the economic and tourism growth, Mexico is soaring with its best month in tourism yet. February 2023 marked the highest tourism growth in the country since the pandemic, coming in at an impressive 23% higher than in 2022.

According to a comprehensive study by the Tourism Research and Competitiveness Center at Anáhuac University, using the data collected by INEGI, the Mexican tourism industry had a surplus of $20.9 billion dollars by the end of 2022, that’s a jaw-dropping increase of 43.3% on 2021. The latest numbers are also showing that the tourism sector’s trade balance is actually outperforming most of the country’s other business sectors, making tourism a true economic powerhouse for Mexico.

To even further prove the importance and incredible growth of tourism in Mexico, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) revealed that 2.2 million jobs were registered in the tourism sector in the last year, that’s an increase of 1.1% compared to pre-pandemic 2019. This shows that not only has Mexico recovered from the pandemic, but that tourism throughout the country is even stronger than before.

The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported that 5.7 million tourists arrived in Mexico in the month of February, bringing in a staggering $2.587 billion USD. Of these 5.7 million tourists, 89% travelled to Mexico for recreational, cultural, work and family purposes, with only 11% passing through in transit or staying at the borders.

The most popular destinations for these tourists arriving in Mexico are the Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City and Los Cabos. In fact, in 2022, the Riviera Maya broke countless records, seeing over 19 million tourists visiting its beautiful beaches in 2022, smashing the region’s current record set in 2019. According to projections, the Riviera Maya is set to have yet another 4.5% increase in the number of visitors in 2023, making the total a show-stopping 20.5 million.

To support this incredible increase in growth, Cancun Airport is upping its game and now offers more direct connections than ever before, to some of the country’s most avid visitors. The USA now has 41 direct connections to most major cities, Canada has 21 and the United Kingdom has 7 direct connections to Cancun Airport.

Mexico is set to have its best year on record when it comes to tourism growth, with popular destinations such as the Riviera Maya leading the way with incredible visitor numbers and supporting infrastructure. <