Mexico's tourism industry will likely grow by 11.3 pc in 2023
Mexico has regained the ninth spot in the world in terms of foreign exchange earnings from tourism, according to data by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism Miguel Torruco says that, according to the WTO’s World Tourism Barometer, it is estimated that Mexico will rank ninth in foreign exchange earnings per international visitor for 2022.
Torruco told media that Mexico climbed from 17th place registered in 2018 at the beginning of the current administration, to ninth in 2022 in foreign exchange earnings per international visitors, which puts the country among the top 10 countries for the second consecutive year for how the tourism potential of a nation is measured.
The Secretary of Tourism affirmed that according to forecasts for the end of 2023, Mexico will capture USD 31.1 billion from international visitors, which is 11.3 pc more than in 2022, and 26.8 pc more than in 2019.
Torruco also pointed out that in 2022, foreign exchange income from international visitors to Mexico will total USD 28 billion. This is 41.7 pc higher than in 2021 and 14 pc above 2019.
He also emphasised that this significant rise complies with the premise of the current tourism policy, which prioritises foreign exchange earnings from international visitors above the number of tourists, with the purpose that the economic spillover permeates into the communities of the 235 places with a tourist vocation in Mexico, the purpose is to make tourism a tool for social reconciliation.
In 2022, 38.3 million international tourists arrived in Mexico, representing a growth of 20.3 pc with respect to that observed in 2021 and only 14.9 pc of that recorded in 2019.
Thus, Mexico ranks sixth in the WTO ranking, below France, Spain, the United States, Turkey, and Italy, representing progress, considering that at the close of 2018, Mexico ranked seventh in international tourist arrivals.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, the world tourism market is beginning to recover. And the fact is that in 2020 it suffered a significant drop when the world market fell considerably by 72.2 pc in terms of tourists and 62.6 pc in spending.
