Foreign tourists have been arriving to Mexico in droves this year, the Tourism Ministry reported this week, with international tourism spending benefiting the Mexican economy by more than US $24 billion as a result.

Citing a survey published by the national statistics agency INEGI, Mexico’s Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez on Tuesday told reporters that 69.8 million international visitors arrived in Mexico from January through October, 15.1% more than during the same period in 2023. (The Tourism Ministry defines visitors as any non-resident who enters the country, while tourists are those who stay at least one night in Mexico.)

These international visitors, INEGI found, infused Mexico’s economy with US $26.5 billion, 6.8% more than during the same months last year.

Mexico received 69.8 million international visitors in the ten-month period, Rodríguez said. Of that number, 36.3 million were tourists who stayed at least overnight — 7.2% more tourists than Mexico welcomed last year. A record number of Canadian tourists contributed to the increase.

Furthermore, international tourists were responsible for US $24.3 billion of the revenue earned, 5.2% more than was spent during the first 10 months of 2023, and 32.2% more than during the same period in 2019.

The results of the survey indicate that Mexico’s tourism industry has fully recovered from the interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020. Rodríguez said that more than 4.9 million people were employed in Mexico’s tourism industry as of Sept. 30, 2024.

The US $26.5 billion in revenue from international visitors represented a 31.2% increase over revenue recorded during the January-October 2019 period.

In the first 10 months of 2024, Mexico also welcomed18.7 million international tourists by air, 1.8% more than last year, 17.3% more than in the same period in 2019.

These 18.7 million tourists spent an average of US $1,161 per day, 2.6% more than last year and 14.4% more than in 2019.

After presenting the INEGI report, Rodríguez praised the tourism sector for consolidating its role in producing shared prosperity by “bringing the benefits of this noble activity to all communities and all participants in the chain of production.”

Just a day earlier, Rodríguez met with state tourism ministers and members of the tourism industry. During her appearance, she applauded the tourism industry as “a genuine motor for transformation” and a key pillar in promoting “the economic growth that will procure prosperity for all.”

With reports from EFE and Once Noticias