US Stands Out as Top International Destination Among Mexican Travelers

The United States is the top international destination among Mexican travelers, followed by Canada and Spain. However, New York and Miami also appear independently in fourth and fifth place alongside France.

This U.S. travel trend demonstrates a gradual recovery of consumer confidence towards the possibility of traveling in the short term, without the risk of COVID-19.

Among the reasons that motivated the trips were the perception that the opportunity of the trip would not be repeated, escape the confinement during the pandemic, visits to relatives, and the replacement of international travels instead of nationals.

Mexican travelers also considered previous experiences in such destinations, the easy way of booking and arriving, recommendations from friends and family, and advertising and sales, although the images of each destination in movies or series also played an important role.

On the flip side, many travel plans were hampered by the impact of COVID-19 on families, the fear of the risk of contagion and complications derived from the closure of borders in several countries, the decrease in air frequencies, and the increase in fares on some routes.

Fifty-two percent of those who traveled from the beginning of the pandemic outbreak until November 2020 hired a traditional travel agency, while the remaining 48 percent preferred online digital platforms.

This data is part of the analysis entitled “Perceptions and attitudes of Mexican travelers in post-Covid-19 times” by Dr. Francisco Madrid Flores, general director of the Center for Research and Tourism Competitiveness of Anahuac University (CICOTUR for its acronym in Spanish).

The CICOTUR document, open to consultation, is based on a questionnaire applied to 1,355 people—between November and December 2020, with the second phase taking place in May 2021—by students from the Anahuac University and representatives of CICOTUR, considered the first tourism think tank in Mexico.

The study shows that Millennials (41 percent) and Generation X (31.7 percent) represented the two main groups of travelers. However, Centennials also participated in 18.2 percent, as did Baby Boomers (9.1 percent), who were guided by the options of activities, quality services, safety at the destination, prices, hygiene, and prestige of the cities or countries.

Seventy-two percent of Gen Xers traveled with family, Baby Boomers often took couples trips (30.1 percent) while Millennials preferred to make trips with friends.

Domestically, From March 2019 to May 2021, Mexicans spent $270 million traveling in Mexico, where five preferred destinations were Cancun, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Oaxaca and Los Cabos. Most (51.8 percent) preferred traditional hotel accommodations, and 37 percent opted for rented private homes and platforms such as Airbnb.