World Travel and Tourism Council Forecasts Substantial Increase in International Bookings to Mexico

Image: Cathedral and Poinsettias in Mexico City (Photo via Carrie Thompson / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Image: Cathedral and Poinsettias in Mexico City (Photo via Carrie Thompson / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
by Alberto Lozano
Last updated: 4:15 PM ET, Thu September 8, 2022

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts a substantial Increase in international bookings to Mexico by the second half of 2022, mainly from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Argentina.

Based on the analysis by its strategic partner Forward Keys, WTTC estimates that by the second half of 2022, Mexico will register a growth of more than 16 percent in the number of reservations by air route compared to the same period of 2019, the year before the COVID-19 health crisis.

The countries that have registered the most significant increase in reservations to Mexico are the United Kingdom with a growth of 45 percent, the United States with 35 percent, France with 25 percent, Argentina with 18 percent, and Canada with 3 percent.

In 2021 the travel and tourism sector in Mexico saw an increase of more than 23.6 percent in its contribution to the country's economy, with almost 169 billion dollars. Mexico represented the 8th economy globally in travel and tourism.

During this same year, it increased 9.2 percent in employment levels compared to 2020, reaching more than 6 million jobs, i.e., almost 11 percent of the total jobs in the country.

Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the WTTC said: "Mexico's Travel and Tourism sector is in a strong recovery, which is encouraging for economic development and job creation. These figures give Latin America a respite after the great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic."

On the other hand, in its recent Economic Impact Report (EIR), it is projected that, during the next ten years in the travel and tourism sector in Mexico, more than 2.7 million new jobs will be generated, in addition to registering an annual growth rate in the industry of 3.2 percent, exceeding what was forecast to the growth of the total national economy, which is estimated to be 2 percent for the same period.

The contribution of the tourism sector to the world economy in 2021 reached more than 5.8 billion dollars, that is, a growth of more than 21.7% percent over the previous year, with which the sector represents 6.1 percent of the global economy. In addition, it contributed to 289 million jobs in 2021, with an increase of 6.7 percent over the previous year, adding more than 18.2 million new jobs in the tourism sector.


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