Mexico Tourism Numbers Increase as Summer Heats Up

Mexico continues to experience an influx of international travelers as the busy summer travel season heats up.

According to Mexico News Daily, the Institute of National Statistics and Geography (INEGI) revealed that foreign tourist arrivals increased by 9.3 percent in May to 3.3 million people, a jump of more than 276,000 compared to the same month in 2022.

The combined total for international and domestic travel grew to 5.9 million people in May, a 14.2 percent increase from last year. While visitor numbers improved, per capita spending dropped 7.4 percent to an average of $652 per tourist, totaling around $15 million less.

Spending may have been down in May, but the high number of arrivals helped total revenue climb by 1.2 percent, including air travelers accounting for a higher average spend of $1,096.

Mexico’s tourism numbers in April were down 1.9 percent compared to April 2022, with spending by tourists also down 5.2 percent compared to last year. The decline was the country’s first since April 2021.

Last month, the Director of the Quintana Roo Sargassum Monitoring Network, Esteban Jesus Amaro Mauricio, and other officials in cities along the Mexican Caribbean revealed that distance, speed of travel and currents have resulted in experts forecasting a non-existent flow of sargassum seaweed this summer.