Mexico City, Mexico — Tourism’s Gross Domestic Product reached 2.71 trillion pesos, representing 8.7% of the National GDP. It is estimated that for the end of 2025, the arrival of international tourists will generate an income of $35.1 billion dollars.
The year-end holiday period is projected to see a growth of 7.5% in the arrival of national and international tourists to hotel rooms compared to 2024. President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo highlighted that Mexico begins 2026 with five pieces of good economic news.
The peso is gaining against the dollar; the Mexican Stock Exchange and the Institutional Stock Exchange had their best year ever in 2025. The minimum wage increased by 13 percent and she noted that through October, international visitor arrivals increased by 13.6 percent compared to 2024, making tourism one of the main pillars of the Mexican economy.
“I’m going to give you five pieces of good economic news: Mexico has the second lowest unemployment rate in the world, although some say that’s not true, but all the data should be reviewed.
“The peso, I’m not saying this, El Economista and El Financiero reported it today, registered its best gain against the dollar since 1991. The Mexican Stock Exchange had its best year since 2009, and the Institutional Stock Exchange (BIVA) its best since it opened in 2018,” she reported Friday.
“The Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora already told us that even before the year ends in October, foreign visitors to Mexico increased by 13.6 percent. And as you know, starting yesterday, the minimum wage increased by 13 percent. Five pieces of good economic news for our country,” she reported at the morning press conference Friday.
She explained that in terms of tourism for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Mexican government is investing in airports, streamlining immigration procedures for visitors, and advancing a security protocol.
Josefina Rodríguez Zamora said that from January to October 2025, 79.3 million international visitors arrived in Mexico, a 13.6 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
International tourist arrivals also increased by 5.8 percent reaching 38.4 million, while domestic tourism registered 92.6 million visitors, a 3.3 percent increase. This resulted in a hotel occupancy rate of 60.2 percent, 2.3 percentage points higher than in 2024.
She highlighted that the main source markets for air travel to Mexico were the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Spain, Costa Rica, Italy, China, Panama and South Korea. She detailed that the Tourism Gross Domestic Product (TGP) reached 2.71 trillion pesos, matching the level recorded in 2024 and representing 8.7 percent of the National GDP.
Furthermore, Foreign Direct Investment in Tourism during the third quarter of 2025 totaled $787.6 million USD, representing a 40.3 percent increase compared to 2024. This growth was driven by investment in apartments and houses with hotel services as well as hotels with other integrated services.
Tourism employment also grew, with 5 million new jobs, verifying that one in 10 jobs nationwide is tourism-related. In November 2025, the number of insured workers in the sector increased by 4.9 percent.
She added that 14 million seats were scheduled on flights from the United States and Canada to all of Mexico during the period from November 2025 to March 2026, representing a 2.5 percent increase compared to the same period of the previous year.
Meanwhile, during the November-December 2025 period, eight million seats were reserved for Mexican beaches on 45,474 flights from the United States, which corresponds to 4.8 percent more than December of last year.
She also noted that the airline industry is rebounding as national and international airlines operating in Mexico served 110,717,501 passengers, a 2.3 percent increase compared to 2024. Furthermore, 111 new air routes were opened, 67 international and 44 domestic.
She explained that according to the United Nations, global tourism is expected to grow between four and five percent by the end of 2025, while in Mexico, international tourist arrivals are estimated to increase by 6.6 percent, generating $35.1 billion USD in revenue.
She specified that during the year-end holiday period from December 20, 2025 to January 11, 2026, domestic and international tourist arrivals to hotels are expected to register a 7.5 percent increase compared to 2024.
She pointed out that domestic tourism is growing, particularly in destinations like Mazatlán, which from January to November 2025 registered the arrival of 253,309 cruise ship passengers, 112 arrivals, an economic impact of 637 million pesos (MXN), 5,114 regular flights arriving with 690,000 passengers and the opening of seven new domestic air routes during 2025.
More than 79,000 tourists arrived, and hotel occupancy increased by more than 14.4 percentage points compared to November of the previous year. Regarding Acapulco, he highlighted a 47.2 percent increase in visitors, resulting in a 110 percent increase in economic impact and an occupancy rate of 96.1 percent. In addition, four new air routes were opened.
Riviera Maya News serving Quintana Roo Mexico since 2014
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