:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/R42IYBOCDBEANMWZQM5L3JXXCU.jpg "Mexico received .8 billion in foreign currency from foreign tourists in January 2023")
During January, Mexico received 6 million 365 thousand 169 visitorsof which 3 million 397 thousand 200 were international touristsreport it National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), or 28.5% more than last year.
In the first month of this year, foreign exchange earnings relating to total expenditure by international visitors amounted to 2 thousand 835 million dollarsa figure higher than the 1 thousand 980 million of the same month of the previous year.
Of the total number of tourists who entered the country during this period, 88.9% did so by air and the remaining 11.1% by land, mainly by bus. US-Mexico border.
According to Inegi data, the average cost of tourists who entered by plane was 1 thousand 225 dollars, which at the exchange rate is about 20,000 Mexican pesos.
In contrast, Mexican residents who traveled abroad spent an amount equivalent to $667 million, according to the same report.
Before the health crisis, Mexico’s tourism gross domestic product (GDP) represented 8.6% of the national economy in 2019, and in 2021 it fell to 7.1%. According to government estimates, the year 2022 could have closed at 8.3%.
Despite everything, Mexico was the third most visited country in the world in 2020, a temporary phenomenon that is attributed to flexible sanitary measures in the country’s tourist areas.
Before the pandemic, Mexico was consolidated in 2019 as one of the 10 most visited countries in the world, with more than 45 million international tourists who left 24.563 million dollars, representing an annual growth of 9%.
Regarding projections for 2023, Mexico could reach 31 thousand 169 million dollars in income from international tourists, which would exceed pre-pandemic levels, the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) estimated at the end of February.
Tourism Secretary Miguel Torruco pointed out that this figure is equivalent to an increase of 11.3% compared to 2022 and 26.8% more than what was observed in 2019, just before the covid-virus pandemic. 19.
In addition, he estimated that by 2023, 39.4 million international tourists will arrive in Mexico, 2.7% more than in 2022.
Next March 26 will begin in Mexico the Mexican tourist tianguisconsidered the main economic fair of the sector.
This edition for the tourist tianguis the central theme will be the women empowerment by tourism.
Michael Torrucoexplained that in the event, which will take place at the Citibanamex Convention Center, 1,113 national and international buyers are already registered, 685 companies from 55 countries, 1.97 exhibitors, 592 companies and the 32 federal entities of the country.
“This event will be very significant for Mexico City, where 14% of employment is linked to tourism and which has been strongly affected by the covid-19 pandemic.”
The official pointed out that Mexico is one of the 10 most visited countries in the world and that in 2022 it was close to the levels it maintained before the pandemic.
In addition to economic and commercial activities, there will be a Academic program in which people like Rosario Marín, Mexico’s first woman as Treasurer of the United States, or Carlos Slimchairman of the board of directors of Telmex, will offer masterful conferences.
In addition, more than 20 virtual seminars related to the tourist and cultural activities of the 32 states of the country will be offered.