Mexico's Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, announced that in 2024, foreign exchange earnings from international visitors were 32,956.3 million dollars (mmdd), 7.4 percent more than in 2023 and 34.1 percent more than in 2019.
According to the results of the International Traveler Surveys published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), during 2024, 45 million international tourists entered the country, 7.4 percent more than what was captured in 2023.
He stressed that the above is an unequivocal sign of the preponderant role of tourism in the national economy, and with the actions implemented on the second floor of the Fourth Transformation and the coordinated effort between the public sector and the private initiative, Mexico is consolidated as a tourist power, where the economic spillover and jobs generated by this noble activity benefit Mexicans. And thanks to the national public policy based on sustainability and community tourism, the resident communities, Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants will also benefit.
He also said that in 2024, 86.4 million international visitors were registered in the country, 15.5 percent more than the previous year.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange earnings from international tourists amounted to 30,246.2 million dollars, 5.9 percent and 35.3 percent more compared to 2023 and 2019, respectively.
He reported that last year 23.2 million international tourists arrived in Mexico by air, which means an increase of 1.5 percent compared to 2023 and 18 percent compared to 2019.
The head of the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) added that the average spending of inbound tourists by air in 2024 was 1,166.6 dollars, a growth of 3.6 percent compared to 2023 and 16.5 percent compared to the average spending recorded in the same period in 2019.
On the other hand, the balance of international visitors was 21,631.8 million dollars, 0.9 percent more than what was recorded in 2023 and 47.2 percent more than 2019.
He noted that during January-December 2024, 10 million 152 thousand cruise passengers arrived at the different ports of Mexico, with a foreign exchange income of 849 million dollars; 14.4 percent more compared to 2023 and 35.6 percent more than the amount collected in 2019.
Rodríguez Zamora asserted that, with national promotion, combined with Mexico's participation in international fairs, the celebration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the appointment of Mexico as a partner country at the International Tourism Fair in its next edition, in the coming years, the country will have great opportunities to show the world its vast cultural, natural, gastronomic and tourist wealth.
Source: SECTUR.