The Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, stated that tourism in Mexico grew significantly in 2024 and was consolidated as a source of jobs, well-being and contributed to poverty reduction in the country.
The head of the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) reported that, based on the results of the International Traveler Surveys, published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), in the period January-November 2024, the arrival of 77.4 million international visitors was recorded, 15.6 percent more than what was captured in 2023.
He added that foreign exchange income from international visitors also recorded an increase compared to 2023 and 2019, registering $29,253.8 million, 7.2 percent and 32.4 percent more, respectively.
He also announced that during January-November 2024, 40.2 million international tourists entered the country, 7.7 percent more than in 2023.
In this context, it should be noted that the archaeological area of Chichén Itzá, recognized as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, closed 2024 as the most visited archaeological site in Mexico. With more than 2.2 million tourists, this ancient Mayan city was consolidated as the main cultural destination of the country, attracting both national and foreign tourists.
Rodríguez Zamora said that the above is an unequivocal sign that the transformation in the country continues to give results and maintained that “we will carry out the corresponding actions so that Mexico continues to consolidate itself as a sustainable tourism power.”
He also thanked President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s trust in tourism activity as a fundamental tool to generate jobs, bring well-being to all Mexicans, and thus achieve shared prosperity for all members of the productive chain of the tourism sector, in particular, to the indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples, as well as to the resident communities.
Encouraging numbers
The head of Sectur highlighted that, from January to November 2024, 20.7 million tourists of boarding by air arrived, 1.7 percent more compared to 2023, and 17.5 percent more to tourists of boarding via area captured in the same period of 2019.
He added that the average spending of international tourists from January to November 2024 recorded $1,161.3, 3.1 percent more compared to 2023 and 15.4 percent more than the average expenditure recorded in the same period of 2019.
He maintained that in the first eleven months of 2024, the balance of the balance for international visitors was 19 thousand 117.8 million dollars, 0.5 percent more than what was recorded in 2023 and 45.3 percent more than the balance raised in the same period of 2019.
He assured that during January-November 2024, 8 million 794 thousand passengers arrived at the different ports of Mexico on a cruise, 11.3 percent more than the figure recorded in the same period of 2019 and said that the income of foreign currency by hikers on cruises amounted to 747.4 million dollars, 12.9 percent more compared to 2023 and 35.6 percent more than the amount raised in the same period of 2019.
Rodríguez Zamora recalled that, in 2023, the Gross Domestic Tourism Product (GDP) amounted to 2 trillion 582 billion 001 million pesos, with a growth rate of 4.4 percent, with respect to 2022, a figure higher than the growth of the national total GDP, which increased 3.2 percent; and highlighted that the participation of the GDP within the national GDP was 8.6 percent.
In this sense, he mentioned that, during the third quarter of 2024, 4 million 902,000 people were employed in the tourism sector, which represents 9.1 percent of total national employment and an increase of 2.9 percent and 11.9 percent compared to the same period of 2023 and 2019, respectively.
He praised that, according to the Center for Research and Tourism Competitiveness of the University of Anáhuac Mexico, 5.1 million Mexicans came out of poverty from 2018 to 2022, of which almost 490,000 were due to tourism activity, that is, 9.7%.