Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism says a cooperation agreement with cruise companies has been made to promote Made in Mexico. The new agreement with the Association will strengthen Mexico’s cruise ship tourism sector.
Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, said the cruise industry is committed to working on actions that will generate jobs for Mexicans, support local suppliers and promote national art.
The new agreement, which is part of Plan Mexico, was reached with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), the National Migration Institute (INM) and members of the cruise industry. The agreement will strengthening collaboration to boost national tourism, stimulate the Mexican economy and production chains, and increase the national workforce on international cruise ships.
According to Rodríguez Zamora, Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association CEO Michele M. Paige has agreed to collaborate with member cruise lines in the retention and payment of the Non-Resident Tax to the Government of Mexico, a collection that began July 1.
The Association has also agreed to increase the supply of Made in Mexico (Hecho en Mexico) products used on board ships, expand the promotion of Mexico as a destination through its communication channels and position Mexican folk art during voyages and in the port spaces of member cruise lines, as well as promote the acquisition of products under the Made in Mexico program.
The new agreement also includes participation in recruitment fairs and establish alliances with educational institutions with the objective of training and, where appropriate, hiring a greater number of qualified Mexican marines and sailors.
The Association will also assist in all matters relating to statistical information and studies derived from cruise tourism activity in Mexican ports.
Among the agreements, Rodríguez Zamora highlighted the increases in job creation for Mexicans on cruise ships, the provision of local supplies of Made in Mexico products and the promotion of national folk art as part of the priority objectives.
Rodríguez Zamora asserted that the tourism sector’s participation in Plan Mexico is essential, and that both the agreements and the coordinated work with cruise companies will allow for increased investment goals.
she explained that during talks, it was considered that the tourism sector constitutes a fundamental pillar for the country’s economic development, making it necessary to continue implementing mechanisms that promote the development of tourism activity and its economic impact, particularly the income generated by foreign visitors arriving in Mexico aboard cruise ships.
Likewise, the participation of cruise companies was taken into account, as it is crucial to promoting the country as a tourist destination by disseminating the country’s goods, services, and the entire supply chain linked to tourism through their communication channels.
She recalled that on December 31, 2024, the “Decree granting a tax incentive to the taxpayers indicated in the matter of rights for immigration services” was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, on the amount of the fee established in Article 8, section I, of the Federal Law of Fees, through which a tax incentive was granted to foreign passengers entering the country by sea aboard cruise ships.
Rodríguez Zamora added that in order to “minimize the impact on the tourism sector and mitigate any adverse effects that may arise in the short term regarding the collection of the DNR fee, a phased implementation of the tax incentive was deemed necessary, allowing cruise passengers the opportunity to assimilate and internalize the payment of this fee.”
As published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on June 30, 2025, the fees will gradually increase until 2030.
