Tourism to Mexico has been on the rise since the early 2000s, with the annual number of international tourists more than doubling over the last 25 years, a new study shows.
According to the report, The Power of Travel: Our Perspective on the Next Golden Era of Travel, developed jointly by Google and the consulting firm Álvarez & Marsal, Mexico welcomed 21 million inbound arrivals in 2000 compared with the 45 million that qualified as international tourists last year.
With this trend, the report anticipates that Mexico is on the road to becoming one of the world’s top 10 countries by volume of visitors by 2050.
The report’s results are based on data drawn from predictive models fueled by billions of search queries, tourism datapoints, and airline travel trends that reveal the long-term trajectory on the market’s behavior for both domestic and international travel.
It also identifies Latin America, along with Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, as regions of high structural growth, driven by the expansion of the middle class in those regions, the incorporation of new travelers and a greater frequency of travel.
President Claudia Sheinbaum noted that Mexico’s cultural and natural attractions, the political transformation the country is undergoing, and the work of the Tourism Ministry are contributing to the country’s growing tourism industry.
“And the numbers will most likely grow this year, because we also have the World Cup, which will bring in millions of visitors,” Sheinbaum said.
According to official estimations, Mexico is expected to receive some 5 million international tourists across the three World Cup host cities.
Furthermore, Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez Zamora said that during the first half of 2026, the country will have 32 new domestic air routes and 22 new international routes, expanding Mexico’s air connectivity while introducing the country to new markets.
Rodríguez also said that Mexico will participate this year in 18 travel fairs and five caravans in different parts of the world to promote Mexico’s destinations to a global audience.
Mexico is the sixth-most-visited country in the world, behind France, Spain, the United States, Turkey and Italy. According to a separate study conducted by Google and the international professional services network Deloitte, it is on track to break into the top five by 2040.
Mexico News Daily
