More than 10 million international tourists arrived at Mexico’s airports during the first five months of the year, with the Cancún, Mexico City and Los Cabos airports leading the way.

According to a press release from the Tourism Ministry (Sectur), the arrival of 10,160,000 tourists by air between January and May represents a 5.5% increase over the same period of 2023. 

The number of international visitors arriving by air was also a 19.8% increase over the same five-month period of 2019, one year before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global tourism industry, according to Sectur data.

More than 8 million tourists, nearly 80% of total arrivals, hailed from three countries: the United States, Canada and Colombia. Tourists from the U.S. numbered 6,248,000, an increase of 7.5% over the same five-month period of 2023, and a 31.8% improvement over the January-May figures in 2019.

An estimated 1,537,000 visitors arrived by air from Canada, an 11.6% rise over last year, while 257,273 travelers from Colombia landed at Mexican airports, representing a 20% increase over 2023.

Which airports received the most international tourists?

Cancún was the most popular destination, according to Sectur, with roughly 4,684,000 of the 10.16 million tourists touching down at the Cancún International Airport. 

Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport came in at No. 2 with 1.76 million tourists arriving there, while the Los Cabos International Airport in Baja California Sur received nearly 1,059,000 international tourists.

The remainder of Mexico’s international airports welcomed 2,652,000 foreign visitors — nearly 21% of all international air arrivals — which represented an increase of 13.5% over the same January-May period of 2023.

Torruco attributed the increase in tourist arrivals to improvements in air connectivity spearheaded by the current government. 

The increase noted by Sectur continues the upward trend in international tourism that was reflected during the first quarter of the year. International arrivals by air to Mexico from January-March 2024 increased by 19.9% compared to the same period of 2019, and were up 8.6% compared to the first three months of 2023. 

With reports from MVS Noticias, Fortuna and Crónica Nacional