Domestic tourism stagnates as economy cools

The home tourism marketplace successful Mexico saw fundamentally flat-line maturation successful 2025 aft a diminution successful 2024, according to information published by the Tourism Ministry (Sectur).

Experts accidental this inclination could beryllium explained by a weakening system and nonaccomplishment of household purchasing power, ostentation successful tourism goods and services (hotels, transportation, food) and information problems successful immoderate destinations and connected immoderate roads.

In an advisory released Monday, Sectur disputed an nonfiction published Sunday successful the paper El Universal that claimed hotels received 100,000 less Mexican tourists betwixt January and October 2025 compared to the aforesaid play successful 2024.

However, Sectur’s ain information confirms El Universal’s reporting. According to the ministry’s authoritative DataTur study for October 2025, determination were 52.7 cardinal home edifice stays betwixt January and October 2025 — 100,000 less than the 52.8 cardinal registered during the aforesaid play successful 2024. This contradicts the agency’s advisory, which claimed 63.09 cardinal home tourists for January-October 2025 compared to 62.64 cardinal successful 2024.

The discrepancy raises questions astir however Sectur is calculating home tourism figures. The ministry’s preliminary calculations for January-November besides look inflated, citing 69.58 cardinal successful 2025 versus 69.17 cardinal successful 2024, figures that don’t align with the inclination shown successful the authoritative monthly reports (find them here).

Looking astatine the afloat twelvemonth 2024, DataTur recorded 62.9 cardinal home edifice stays, down from 65.2 cardinal successful 2023 — a diminution of 3.5% oregon 2.3 cardinal less home tourists. If the January-October 2025 inclination holds, with 52.7 cardinal home edifice stays versus 52.8 cardinal successful the aforesaid play of 2024, the afloat twelvemonth 2025 would amusement fundamentally level show astatine best, representing a humble stabilization aft 2024’s diminution but remaining good beneath 2023 levels.

Sectur emphasized successful its advisory that accepted edifice occupancy rates don’t represent the lone indicator of tourism activity. The ministry noted that the emergence and consolidation of integer accommodation platforms has transformed the sector’s dynamics, capturing a important marketplace stock that indispensable beryllium considered for a broad investigation of tourism enactment successful the country.

In presumption of destinations, Cancún, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta led successful preservation numbers, solidifying their positions arsenic anchor destinations for leisure and municipality tourism. Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mérida followed acknowledgment to an offering that attracted concern tourism, events and play getaways, broadening their entreaty to a wider scope of travelers.

Meanwhile, the United States remained the main operator of planetary tourism for Mexicans, with cities similar Las Vegas, New York and Orlando topping the database of preferences. 

Across the pond, Madrid came successful arsenic the astir visited European destination for Mexican travelers, portion the Caribbean and South America gained important ground.  

Within this trend, Punta Cana successful the Dominican Republic, and Cartagena de Indias and Bogotá, successful Colombia, stood retired for their maturation successful reservations during 2025.

With reports from El Universal, Tribuna de México and El Porvenir