Acapulco, Mexico. (Photo Credit: rafalkubiak/Adobe)
Mexico’s tourism industry this year has started with positive numbers, mainly in destinations such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Mexico City, places that have recorded high numbers of visitors from the United States and Canada, mainly.
Meanwhile, Acapulco is gradually recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Otis, which hit that area of the Pacific several months ago.
Mexico started 2024 receiving more international tourists, capturing higher income from foreign visitors, and obtaining an average expenditure of these tourists (who arrive in the country by air), higher than in the same period of 2023.
With data from the International Traveler Surveys of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), the consultancy specialized in tourism, Gemes, announced that, in January, 3.6 million tourists arrived in Mexico, 124 thousand more than in 2023, which represented a growth of 3.6 percent.
On the other hand, each international visitor spent, on average, 808 dollars, which is the second-highest figure recorded. While the average spending of tourists arriving by air recorded an all-time high of $1,262. The total revenue collection for international visitors was 3,143 million dollars, representing the highest revenue in a month of January.
The consultancy firm Gemes reports that, in February 2024, the four airports that recorded the largest influx of foreign tourists were Cancun, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. These are the percentage increases reported compared to 2023:
- Cancun — 10.7 percent
- Mexico City — 2.4 percent
- Puerto Vallarta — 14 percent
- Los Cabos — 5.7 percen
Cancun Airport, which receives visitors mainly from the United States and Canada, recorded the arrival of more than 1 million travelers, which accounted for more than 46 percent of international arrivals in Mexico.
Acapulco Is Back After Hurricane Otis
Months after the devastating Hurricane Otis, the port of Acapulco has begun to recover and has already hosted international events such as the Tianguis Turístico 2024, in which 43 countries participated, as well as sports competitions such as the Mexican Tennis and the GNP Acapulco P1 Premium Padel.
As part of the work of the Tianguis Turístico 2024, the most important trade fair of the industry in Latin America, Miguel Torruco, Minister of Tourism of Mexico, said that about 36,000 business appointments were held in which 1,115 buyers and 833 companies participated.
He said that, after the effects of Hurricane Otis, Acapulco again began to be one of the main destinations for domestic and foreign visitors. This was demonstrated during the past Easter holidays and on the days that the Tianguis Turístico 2024 was developed, in which there was a hotel occupancy of 9,500 available rooms, which meant more than a 13 percent increase.
Little by little, this famous Pacific resort recovers the activities of the tourism industry and, in addition to starting to rehabilitate hotels, tour operators have returned to offer the products that for years have been distinctive of Acapulco, such as the emblematic nailed Playa Pie de la Cuesta (with its beautiful sunsets), Papagayo Park, Fort of San Diego, and Punta Diamante, and the iconic Quebrada, located in the old area of the port and in which visitors admire expert divers who throw themselves more than 30 meters high.
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