The number of international tourists visiting Mexico broke records for a fifth straight year in 2017, despite travel advisories issued by both U.S. and the U.K. warning tourists to avoid some Mexican states and the earthquakes that hit the country in September.
Figures from Mexico's Central Bank ( Banxico ) indicate that international tourists visiting Mexico spent USD$21,333 million amounting the foreign exchange income to a new record.
Last year, the United Nations World Tourism Organization ( UNWTO ) placed Mexico in 14th place in the world tourism rankings, thus Enrique de la Madrid Cordero Head of the Ministry of Tourism ( Sectur ) assured that either this year or next year Mexico could be among the top ten places.
Mexico's National Tourism Business Council
( CNET ) anticipates that foreign exchange income will amount to USD$23,087 million in 2018, a new historical maximum for the industry.
Banxico's data showed the number of visitors arriving in the country rose to 39 million .
On average, each tourist spent USD$5,849 during their stay in Mexico, the lowest expense in three years when the average reached USD$5,830 dollars.
Thus, De la Madrid believes that the development of tourist products, recreational parks, and restaurants is necessary in order to increase foreign expenditure in the country.
Hotel occupancy
in the 70 main tourist destinations in Mexico reached a new maximum last year, amounting to 61% , according to Sectur.
Beach centers
registered 66.7% in hotel occupanry rate while cities presented 56.1% .
It should be noted that the tourism industry employed 4,640,000 people directly and over 6 million indirectly in the third quarter of 2017.
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