Cancun Airport was the leader in receiving international tourists in Mexico during 2021

Although in 2021 there was an increase in the arrival of international tourists by air to Mexican territory, pre-pandemic levels have not yet been reached, detailed the Ministry of Tourism. Last year, Mexico received 14 million 90 thousand tourists through international flights.

Although the previous figure represents an increase of 77.6% compared to what was reported in 2020, 20.6% was missing to match the levels prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when 19 million 39 thousand tourists were registered.

According to the Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco Marqués, a total of 35 million 891,000 passengers entered the country by air during 2021. That figure, likewise, is 78.6% higher than that obtained in 2020, but 26.4% was missing to reach the 48,792,000 passengers reported in 2019.

He also explained that there were three airports that received the highest number of international tourists: Los Cabos, Mexico City International Airport (AICM), and Cancun, mainly, with 10 million 883,000 tourists, that is, 26.2% lower than what was obtained in 2019, when more than 14 million were registered of tourists, but 87.6% higher compared to 2020.

And it is that during the holidays, the beaches of Cancun become a tourist spot with the highest concentration of international visitors. Prior to this Easter holiday, nearly 800 passengers are in Terminal 2 of Cancun International Airport (AIC), according to information from local media.

Among the countries from which the majority of international tourists arriving by air in Mexico came were the United States, Canada and Colombia, with 11 million 198,000 tourists. As in the previous data, there was an increase of 77.9% compared to 2020, but it was also 16.6% missing to reach 2019 levels.

US airlines carried the highest number of passengers in 2021, reporting 10 million 517 passengers, that is 32,000 fewer passengers than those captured in 2019 (although the figure is 103.7% higher than in 2020).

On the other hand, it was noted that the expenditure of tourists hospitalized by air increased 96.2% compared to 2020, since it went from 8.27 billion to 16 thousand 223 million dollars; however, it was 17.5% missing to match the 19,662 million obtained prior to the start of the pandemic in 2019.

The forecast for 2022, according to the head of the Sectur, is that 423 international routes will be scheduled with arrivals from Mexico, that is, one route less than those scheduled in 2020 but 395 more than in 2021. So far 31 million 866 thousand seats have been scheduled for this year, a figure higher in 25.6 and 91.6% compared to 2021 and 2020, respectively.

In this regard, Torruco Marqués pointed out that the main routes with scheduled seats come from the United States, which are: Los Angeles-AICM, Houston-AICM, Dallas-Cancun, Los Angeles-Guadalajara. In addition to the previous routes, the Bogotá-AICM route is added. In total, 3 million 17 thousand seats were reserved in 2021 (16.3% higher than what was captured in 2021).

During February of this year, Mexico received 65.1% more international tourists compared to the same month in 2021, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), from 1.59 million tourists to 2.62 million.

Although figures for 2021 are higher than in 2020, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) indicated that Mexico was the third most visited country in 2020, behind only France and Italy, with 24.3 million tourists. Preliminarily, in 2021 Mexico ranked second.

It is worth mentioning that following the inauguration of the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA), 30 routes are expected to operate to various states in the Republic by the second half of 2022, as only three airlines currently operate with domestic flights: Aeromexico, Volaris and VivaAerobús, said Isidoro Pastor Román, director general of the AIFA.

Regarding international flights, only the Conviasa airline that has one route to Venezuela operates, so it is estimated that flights to the United States through Delta Airlines and Copa Airlines will begin offering their services for the second half of 2022, Pastor Román said. Negotiations are also being held with Qatar Airways to schedule routes to the Asian country.

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