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Foreign investment in Mexico’s tourism sector has more than doubled since 2019

MND Staff
By MND Staff
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A view of the Los Cabos marina, surrounded by palm trees with condos in the background
Thanks to destinations like Los Cabos, the state of Baja California Sur attracted more foreign tourism investment than any other Mexican state in 2024. (Shutterstock)

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in tourism reached US $2.9 billion in 2024, up 130% compared to 2019, according to the Tourism Ministry (Sectur).

The figure shows a slight increase from the US $2.9 billion Mexico captured the previous year, Tourism Minster Josefina Rodríguez Zamora said.

“Foreign capital investment is an unequivocal sign of the confidence that international investors have in Mexico,” a government press release reads. “It also facilitates creating modern and sustainable infrastructure in the tourism industry, which in turn promotes new jobs that improve the quality of life of Mexicans.”

Three beach destinations attracted the greatest flow of tourism FDI — two along Mexico’s Pacific coast and one in the Riviera Maya.

Coming in first, Baja California Sur attracted US $1 billion, amounting to 36% of foreign investment in tourism. Next was Quintana Roo with US $786.9 million (close to 25% of the total) followed by Nayarit with US $330 million (12%).

Rodríguez said that most of the investment went towards furnished apartments and houses with hotel services, reaching US $1.9 billion. Hotels with other integrated services captured US $798.3 million.

A well-lit sun room with French doors, an exposed-beam ceiling, plush leather furniture, large potted plants and artistic wall hangings
The lion’s share of foreign tourism investment went toward furnished apartments and houses that offer hotel services. (Airbnb México)

Overall, these two sectors accounted for 96% of the total tourism FDI in Mexico during 2024.

Finally, Rodríguez explained that Mexico’s foreign investment in tourism accounted for 8% of the total FDI attracted by the country in 2024. In contrast, tourism FDI between 1999 and 2024 amounted to US $35.5 billion, just under 5% of FDI at the time.

Sectur’s figures follow a report released earlier this year by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), announcing that economic revenue from international tourism reached US $30.2 billion, up 6% compared to 2023.

The report also highlighted that Mexico welcomed 45.03 million international tourists in 2024 — an increase of more than 7% over 2023.

According to the World Tourism Organization and Mexican government, these figures made Mexico the sixth most-visited country in the world in 2024.

With reports from Swiss Info

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