INEGI: International tourism in Mexico to grow by 18% in May 2025

MEXICO CITY.- This Friday, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) announced that Mexico received 18% more international tourists last May than in the same month in 2024.

The autonomous agency reported that 7.93 million foreign tourists arrived in the country in the fifth month of 2025, compared to 6.72 million in the same period last year.

The main annual increase came in cross-border tourists, which increased by 28.2% to 1.71 million compared to 1.33 million in the same month in 2024.

Although those arriving by air decreased by 5.6% year-on-year in May to 1.68 million people.

On the other hand, last May, total international tourist spending soared 6.3% year-on-year, rising to $2.618 billion from a previous figure of $2.464 billion.

However, the average spending per tourist fell by -9.9% to $329.8 last May, compared to $366.27 in May 2024.

The data reflects the upward trend in tourism in Mexico, which welcomed 45.03 million international tourists in 2024 , 7.4% more than in 2023, a sustained increase since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign currency income from international travelers in 2024 totaled $30,246.2 million, nearly 6% more than the previous year.

Mexico is the sixth most visited country in the world , according to the government and business leaders, based on data from the World Tourism Organization , while the country's president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, has set a goal of reaching the top 5.

In the fifth month of 2025, total spending by international visitors to Mexico reached $2.618 billion, 6.3% higher than the same period last year, according to data published by INEGI.

Of the total number of visitors who entered the country in March, 3.8 million were international tourists , that is, travelers residing abroad who stayed overnight in Mexico, a number 10% higher than the previous year.

In the case of international tourists , travelers residing abroad who advance into Mexico beyond the border and spend at least one night at a destination within the country, totaled 2 million last May, a figure 1.7% lower than that observed a year earlier.

Of the total number of international tourists who entered the country during the reference period, 82% did so by air and the remaining 18% by land.

International tourists reported an average spending per traveler of $1,062.06 last May. The average spending by international tourists arriving by air, who are the largest spenders, was $1,222.82, while in the same period in 2024 it was $1,09.46.

On the other hand, a total of 6 million Mexican residents traveled abroad in the fifth month of 2025 , a figure 12.4% higher than the same period last year. The average spending of these travelers abroad was $172.84 per person.

Overall, total spending by travelers abroad reached $1.41 billion last May. Thus, the balance of international visitors was a surplus of $1.577 billion, 0.5% higher than the $1.569 billion recorded in the fifth month of 2024.

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