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3.88 million cruise tourists came to Mexico between January and April

MND Staff
By MND Staff
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Aerial shot of cruise ship with 10,000 tourists, Quintana Roo, Mexico
So far in 2024, Mexico has hosted more than 1,200 cruise ships, including the world's largest, Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, seen here docked in Mahahual, Quintana Roo, in February. The number of cruise ship tourists visiting Mahahual in 2024 increased by 35% over last year. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)

In the first four months of 2024, Mexico welcomed 3.88 million cruise ship tourists, up 2.2% compared to the same period of last year, the Tourism Ministry (Sectur) reported Sunday.

Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco Marqués said in a statement that the passengers arrived aboard 1,200 cruise ships and spent a total of US $325.8 million tourist dollars in Mexico — 6.2% more compared to the same period of 2023.

Mexico's Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco Marquez speaking at an event in Mexico in 2023.
According to Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco Marquéz, Mexico cruise ship tourists in 2024 spent an average 3.9% more while docked here than in 2023. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)

Torruco added that the average cruise ship tourist expenditure in Mexico was US $83.9 per person, 3.9% more than in 2023, or $80.7 dollars per person. 

Mexico’s ports with the highest number of cruise ship tourists included:

  • Cozumel and Mahahual in Quintana Roo
  • Ensenada in Baja California
  • Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur
  • Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco.

Altogether, these four ports hosted 90% of the total number of cruise ship tourists that arrived at Mexico’s ports from January to April.

Cozumel, which had 520 cruise ship arrivals and welcomed 1.81 million passengers, saw a 14.2% increase in visitors and a 5.5% rise in the number of ships compared to the same period of 2023.

Meanwhile, Mahahual saw 207 cruise ship arrivals and 844,087 tourists, reflecting a 15.6% increase in the number of ships and a 35.6% rise in passengers. With these statistics, Quintana Roo continues to lead the way in cruise ship tourism to Mexico.

Ensenada welcomed 281,007 passengers onboard 93 cruise ships, while Cabo San Lucas saw 83 ships and 257,069 passengers.

Finally, Puerto Vallarta docked 78 cruise ships and 238,471 passengers. 

One of the cruises that arrived in Mahahual, Quintana Roo, was the Icon of the Seas, recently named the world’s biggest cruise ship. The ship, operated by Royal Caribbean Group, reached Mahahual in February carrying 8,000 passengers — double the population of the port village. 

Home to the world’s second largest coral reef, Mahahual is a small fishing town that comes alive during the winter cruise ship season. It has grown in popularity recently as it is the only cruise port in southern Quintana Roo.

Mexico News Daily

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