The importance
of international tourism in Mexico
Dr. Ma. de los Angeles Mendoza González
Tourism is a very important
source of income and comprises a great diversity of elements, both material, and
human. Mexico has exotic places, landscapes, beaches, and archaeological sites,
among other elements that attract a large number of people year after year. This
document will address economic data and important tourism sites in Mexico that
allow us to visualize a broad panorama of what this issue represents today. 
Tourism
is considered a social, cultural, and economic phenomenon that involves the
displacement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment
for personal, professional, or business reasons. These people are called
travelers (who may be either tourists or hikers; residents or non-residents)
and tourism covers their activities, some of which involve tourist expenditure.
Tourism can be national and
international.Despite the pandemic experienced in recent years, tourism has remained one
of the main pillars of the Mexican economy. The National Institute of
Statistics and Geography (INEGI) for its acronym in Spanish, establishes that
in 2021 tourism revenues represented 7.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), which
is equivalent to around 95, 475 million dollars. The population employed in Mexico's tourism
sector amounted to 4 million 264 thousand people employed in the fourth quarter
of 2021. The number of international tourists in 2021 was 31.9 million during 2021,
31.3% more than in 2020. By 2022, the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) estimated
the arrival of more than 40 million international tourists. International tourists come mainly from the
United States of America (78.9%) and the rest from Colombia, Brazil, Canada, and
France.As is known, the most visited places are the archaeological sites, since
they represent the sample of the ancestral culture of the Mexican people. Beaches
occupy an important place as well. In
addition to Mexico City, for its cosmopolitan life, theaters, museums, and
of course historical places such as Chapultepec Castle and the historic center
are of paramount importance. The most
visited beaches were Los Cabos in Baja California Sur, Cozumel and Cancun in Quintana Roo, and Progreso in Yucatan.As for the archaeological sites, the National Institute of Anthropology and
History (INAH) has under its protection a total of 187 archaeological zones
open to the public throughout the country, 365 days a year. Regarding the most visited areas in 2021,
Chichén Itzá in Yucatan is number one, followed
by Tulum in Quintana Roo, Teotihuacán in
the State of Mexico, Cobá in Quintana Roo and Palenque in Chiapas.In addition to travel, air and land transport benefits. As well as hotels,
restaurants, local pottery businesses, jewelry, and other handicrafts, among
others. Of course, one of the great
additional attractions for international travelers is the exchange parity ratio of the dollar and
euro between the main currencies, with the value of the peso. Visitors find
cheap prices, in addition to beautiful places, delicious food, folklore, and
ancestral customs.
In conclusion, several important
elements can be established, such as:a)
Tourism
occupies a very important place in the Mexican economy. b)
Tourism
can be national and international.c) The number of international visitors
continued despite the pandemic. Especially during 2022 when the sanitary
restriction was lifted.d)
International
tourists mainly visit beaches and archaeological sites.e)
Mexican
culture is important and unique.f)
Local
hotels, restaurants, and businesses benefit from international tourism.g)
The
value of the foreign currency (dollar and euro) concerning the peso,
represents a great attraction for international tourists. Therefore, it is convenient to reflect that Mexico has known how to take
advantage of its tourist and cultural attractions. For decades, Mexico obtained
income exclusively from oil, while today it has diversified and in addition to the export of agricultural products and
manufacturing and remittances, important income is obtained from tourism, which
forces to improve the hotel infrastructure, roads, and train the staff so that
they can live up to the needs and expectations of tourists, including quality in service, efficiency and
of course the learning of foreign languages to be able to grant better
experiences.
References
INEGI (2022). Recovered
de
https://inegi.org.mx
INHA (n.d.) Archaeological
sites of Mexico. Retrieved from
https://inha.org.mx
UNWTO (n.d.) Glossary
of terms. Retrieved from
https://www.unwto.org/es/glosario-terminos-turisticos
Statista (2021).
Archaeological sites with the most visits in Mexico 2021. Retrieved from
https://es.statista.com/estadisticas/1125431/zonas-arqueologicas-mas-visitadas-mexico/
Tourism (2021).
Results of tourism activity 2021. Retrieved from
https://www.datatur.sectur.gob.mx/RAT/RAT-2021-07(EN).pdf
