Mexico Estimates 28.1 Pct Growth In Int'l Tourism For 2021

Mexico welcomed 31 million international tourists in 2021, representing an increase of 28.1 percent compared to that of 2020, according to preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Tourism released on Friday

MEXICO CITY, Jan 1 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jan, 2022 ) :Mexico welcomed 31 million international tourists in 2021, representing an increase of 28.1 percent compared to that of 2020, according to preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Tourism released on Friday.

In a statement, Minister of Tourism Miguel Torruco said that Mexico's tourism sector is in "strong recovery," after noting that 24.2 million international travelers visited the country in 2020, a decrease of 46.1 percent compared to 2019.

Foreign exchange income from international visitors reached 18.428 billion U.S. Dollars in 2021, an increase of 67.6 percent against 2020, according to ministry estimates.

In addition, average annual hotel occupancy was 45.9 percent, 19.9 percentage points above 2020, when the sector's activity plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Torruco said traveler confidence has improved as a result of the application of vaccines against COVID-19 in various regions and countries.

The tourism sector's gross domestic product (GDP) will reach a 7.1 percent share of the economy as a whole by 2021, and by 2022 the indicator is expected to increase to at least 8.3 percent, he explained.

Overall, the Mexican economy could rebound by up to 6 percent in 2021, according to official estimates, after plummeting 8.2 percent in 2020.