Thursday, January 8, 2026

Tourism Ministry reports a bump in foreign visitors

Mexico registered a 3.5% increase in foreign visitors arriving by air during the first three months of the year, with U.S. arrivals leading the way.

The Tourism Ministry reported that more than 6.1 million foreign tourists arrived at Mexican airports during the first quarter, with more than 3.9 million holding U.S. passports. Canadians were next, with just over 1.2 million visitors. Argentinians were third on the list with 114,719.

A man rests in the sand on a Cancún beach
Among the millions of foreign visitors to Mexico, some find time to relax on Cancún’s famous beaches. (Elizbeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)

Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez said the Q1 data demonstrates the importance of the economic relationship among the three North American countries, adding that it is critical that Mexico “broadens, maintains and strengthens” ties with the U.S. and Canada.

In that vein, Rodríguez touted Mexico’s first tourism office in the country’s consulate in San Diego. The current exhibit there features tourist attractions in the state of Oaxaca.

Compared to Q1 2024 when 5.25 million U.S. tourists flew into Mexico, air arrivals by U.S. visitors during the first three months this year increased by 5.1%. At the same time, 13% more Canadians flew to Mexico during Q1 2025 than in the same period last year. Argentine arrivals increased by 32.5% over Q1 2024.

These figures represent a significant improvement over 2019, the last full year before the Covid pandemic. 

Air arrivals by U.S. citizens in Q1 2025 were nearly 35% higher than in Q1 2019, while combined U.S., Canadian and Argentine arrivals this year were 28.6% better than during Q1 2019, Rodríguez said.

With reports from Forbes México and Infobae

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