Tourism to Mexico continues to climb, but fewer are arriving by air

Mexico welcomed 7.93 cardinal travelers successful May 2025, up 18% compared to the aforesaid period successful 2024, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

The May leap continues an upward inclination for the year, with INEGI’s month-by-month figures revealing that from January done May, Mexico received a full of 39.39 cardinal planetary visitors, a 14.2% summation implicit the aforesaid play successful 2024. 

While the full fig of tourists entering Mexico accrued successful May, arrivals by airplane declined.
(Cuartoscuro)

Despite the affirmative trend, aerial tourer arrivals shrank successful May, falling 5.6% year-over-year – the 4th antagonistic period retired of the archetypal 5 months of 2025 (April saw a 0.2% rise).

On the different hand, cross-border tourists arriving by car oregon connected ft accrued by 28.2% year-on-year, reaching 1.71 cardinal visitors successful May. 

Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez told the paper El Economista that the driblet successful aerial arrivals is portion of a planetary inclination owed to a deficiency of aircraft. 

“It’s not conscionable Mexico; tourer arrivals by aerial person fallen successful galore countries,” Rodríguez said. “With the accidents that person occurred, determination are planes that are nary longer flying and determination are less seats. It’s a planetary phenomenon.”

However, she said that trips by her ministry to beforehand tourism volition statesman adjacent period successful the United States and Canada to boost the hose industry. “In our case, we’re creating caller routes and are going to initiate promotional activities,” the tourism curate said. 

According to INEGI’s International Traveler Survey (EVI), 3.75 cardinal visitors (47.3%) were planetary tourists who stayed successful Mexico for astatine slightest 1 night, marking a 10% emergence compared to May of the erstwhile year. The remaining 4.18 cardinal travelers, oregon 52.7%, were time trippers who didn’t enactment overnight during their sojourn to Mexico.

Meanwhile, the INEGI study shows that successful May 2025, overseas currency income from full visitant spending amounted to US $2.6 billion, representing a 6.3% yearly increase. In particular, spending by planetary tourists was US $2.3 billion.

The survey noted that idiosyncratic tourists spent astir 10% little connected mean successful Mexico, from US $366.27 successful May 2024 to $329.88 this May. Gabriela Siller, caput of economical investigation astatine Banco Base, which specializes successful planetary finance, cited ostentation and the speech complaint arsenic factors successful the drop. 

Still, fixed the higher fig of visitors, full tourer spending successful Mexico successful May was capable to scope the US $2.6 cardinal fig contempt the driblet successful idiosyncratic spending. 

With reports from Reporte Índigo, Players of Life and El Economista