Mexico Sets Record for International Visitors

From January to May 2022, Mexico hosted approximately 25.4 million international visitors, more than 5.2 million more compared to 2021, representing an increase of 25.9 percent.

On the other hand, foreign tourist arrivals reached 14.6 million, 3.8 million more than observed in the same period of 2021, and equivalent to an increase of 35.7 percent.

According to the Datatur system from Mexico's Ministry of Tourism, foreign exchange revenue from international visitors during the five-month period of January to May 2022 was $11.416 billion, representing an increase of 95.6 percent over the same period in 2021.

The average spending of tourists who arrived by air was $1,144.9 from January-May 2022, representing an increase of 7.9 percent compared to the same period of 2021.

The foreign exchange expense incurred by residents in Mexico when going abroad was $2.4 billion, $788 million more than recorded in the same period of 2021, with an increase of 47.5 percent.

During the same period, 8.4 million international visitors arrived by air, which was 101.2 percent higher than in 2021. In January-May 2022, the arrival of 5.3 million air passengers with U.S. citizenship was recorded, with an increase of 64.2 percent for the same period in 2021; most of which arrived through the airports of Cancun and Los Cabos.

Between January and May 2022, the arrival of 738,000 passengers residing in Canada was registered, presenting an increase of 2,079.1 percent, compared to the same period of 2021, most of which arrived through the airports of Cancun and Puerto Vallarta.

The airports with the highest number of international visitors were Cancun (4,009,729); Mexico City (1,578,039); Los Cabos (929,988); Puerto Vallarta (775,430); Guadalajara (430,087); Cozumel (103,936) Monterrey (88,033) and Silao (72,999).

The percentage of hotel occupancy in selecting 70 tourist centers during January-May of 2022 was 54.1 percent, a level higher by +22.0 percentage points compared to that observed in the same period in 2021.

The percentage of hotel occupancy in the Beach Centers was 67.5 percent in May 2022, a level 18.2 percentage points above that observed in May 2021.

The arrival of passengers on international flights during January-May 2022 was 20.1 million passengers, representing an increase of 9.5 million passengers; 82 percent higher, compared to the observed in the same period of 2021. Mexico also received 1,248 cruise ships across all ports.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History reported the arrival of 5.8 million visitors to museums and archaeological sites, that is, 3.9 million visitors more than those reported in the same period of 2021, which represented an increase of 210.8 percent. Of the total visitors, 69.7 percent were national, and 30.3 percent were international.

For the latest travel news, updates and deals, be sure to subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter here.