Inbound tourism volume in Mexico 2016-2021

In 2021, Mexico welcomed around 32 million international tourists, increasing its tourism volume by more than 30 percent versus a year earlier. Mexico, as one of the few exceptions worldwide, did not adopt strict restrictions to the entry of foreign visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the global air travel halt and the fear of COVID-19 contagion severely impacted the country’s inbound tourism in both years, which up until 2019 had registered a steady increase.

Business tourism in Mexico

While the amount of total international travelers in Mexico was growing over the years prior to the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, the country’s same-day international guests were lessening, from over 77 million in 2016 to roughly 63 million excursionists in 2019. In the inbound business travel segment, tourism expenditures apart from transportation expenses have also decreased in recent years, contrary to the annual total spending from travelers motivated by personal reasons. During 2019, business travel in Mexico City was reported to cost international guests nearly 220 U.S. dollars a day, with hotels accounting for over two thirds of that expense.

International air travel into Mexico

In 2019, around 17.6 international visitors passed through Mexico City International Airport, the leading Mexican airport for inbound travel. During this time, the North American country’s flag carrier Aeroméxico handled the largest share of its international air passenger traffic, with nearly 16 percent of the market. That same year, Grupo Aeroméxico generated a revenue of nearly 68.8 billion Mexican pesos, which was a decrease from the almost 70.3 billion Mexican pesos produced a year prior.