Global visitors keep flocking to Mexico, helping the country recover to pre-pandemic figures. Data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) shows in the first half of 2024, 21.8 million international tourists arrived, marking a 6.24% increase compared to last year. Not only that, but tourist spending and air travel figures were up, showing the country’s wide-ranging appeal.
Mexico travel statistics continue to rise
Besides increased visitors in the first six months of 2024, Mexico also saw elevated tourist spending. Also, both national and international flights rose beyond pre-pandemic levels, showing the industry’s strong position. Those arriving from the U.S. continued to grow, with a significant increase compared to last year. Here’s the data.
So far in 2024, tourist spending in Mexico was $17.5 billion, for an increase of 7.7% year over year. That mark surpasses pre-pandemic levels by 34.6%, when $13.01 billion was spent in the first half of 2019.
According to the Tourism Ministry (Sectur), in the first half of 2024, 11.9 million travelers arrived in Mexico via air. That’s a 4.9% increase since 2023, and 18.6% more than the same timeframe in 2019. Part of that uptick was U.S. tourists, with 7.6 million traveling via air, an increase of 7.6% compared to 2023.
During the same period, 79.5% of visitors arrived from the U.S., Canada, and Columbia. U.S. traveler figures were 7.61 million (a 7% increase), with 1.62 million from Canada (a 10% increase), and 312,960 from Colombia (a 13.1% increase).
Still, even with all the positive news, INEGI reported Mexico tourism figures remain 1.07% below pre-pandemic levels, when 22 million visited in the first half of 2019. Forecasting the rest of 2024, Sectur expects $31.6 billion in tourist spending and 55.3 million international visitors.
