Last year, international visitors spent an all-time high of $30.8 billion in Mexico, according to the latest report by Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco this week.

This is a rise of 10% over 2022 and a 25.4% increase compared to 2019 before the onset of the pandemic.

“The historic result in foreign exchange earnings from international visitors confirms that the tourism policy implemented by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the right one,” Torruco said.

A total of 75.02 million international visitors travelled to Mexico in 2023, according to data published by the Tourism Ministry (Sectur), representing a 13.7% rise compared to 2022. However, the figure was 23% under the total recorded in 2019.

‘International visitors’ refers to foreigners who stay in the country for a minimum of one night, along with cruise ship passengers on shore excursions, as well as day-trippers who enter Mexico through the borders with the US, Guatemala, and Belize, Mexico News Daily reports.

According to data from the International Travellers Surveys, carried out by national statistics agency INEGI, 42.15 million international tourists spent $28.68 billion in Mexico, making up 93% of the $30.8 billion spent by all international visitors.

In addition, the total number of international tourists increased by 10% compared to 2022, whilst their collective spending rose 8.9%. Although tourist numbers fell 6.4% compared to 2019, their total spend was up 28.3%.

This year a total of 42.46 million international tourists are forecast to travel to Mexico, according to Sectur, surpassing last year’s figure by 0.7%. Those arriving by air are estimated to each spend $1,155, a 2.6% increase over 2023.

Whereas the total spend of all international tourists is set to hit $31.14 billion, a 1.1% annual rise.