The Mexican government says that Japanese tourists represent the country’s greatest hope for a boost in tourism revenues.

Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco Marqués said the new government’s strategy to capture more tourist dollars will focus more on attracting big spenders.

“A country’s potential in tourism isn’t measured in the number of visitors to the country, but rather by the amount of money spent, especially in per-capita expenditure,” he said.

Torruco expects tourists to spend approximately US $23.2 billion Mexico this year, nearly 4% more than in 2018. According to the World Tourism Organization, Mexico was the sixth most visited country in the world in 2017, but came in 40^th place in terms of the average amount spent by tourists.

Among the nationalities that spend the most while visiting Mexico, the Japanese were in first place, spending an average of $2,008, not including airfare.

In terms of visitor numbers, Japan was in 17^th place with 140,363 visitors.

Japanese tourists tend to visit Mexico City, Cancún and the Riviera Maya, staying for an average of seven nights. Seven out of 10 visitors chose to stay in four or five-star hotels.

Chinese tourists were the second-biggest spenders, leaving an average of $1,878. They chose overwhelmingly to stay in luxury hotels in Mexico City, Cancún and the Riviera Maya. The Secretariat of Tourism has made special efforts to attract Chinese tourists to Mexicali, Baja California, where Chinese immigrants constructed a historic underground city.

Australians, with an average expenditure of $1,382, came in third place. Most hailed from Sydney or Melbourne and visited Los Cabos, Cancún, the Riviera Maya or Mexico City for about two weeks.

Argentinians also spend a lot while in Mexico. The average visitor spent $1,177 and opted to stay an average of 11 nights in luxury hotels in Mexico City or the Riviera Maya.

German tourists spent an average of $1,021, traveling to the Riviera Maya and the capital for an average of 16 nights.

Tourism Secretary Torruco said he believes that Mexico can encourage even more people to visit and to spend more too.

Source: Informador (sp)