Mexico Tourism: Biz Leaders as Ambassadors

Mexico City — The Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, participated in the ordinary session of the Board of Directors of the Employers' Confederation of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX), where she called on the country's business leaders to become ambassadors for Mexico.

The head of the Secretariat of Tourism (Sectur) emphasized that the mandate from President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo in the "Plan México" is clear: to make tourism an engine of Shared Prosperity and to consolidate Mexico as the fifth most visited country in the world, a goal that will only be possible with the combined efforts of all three levels of government and the private sector.

She highlighted that the United States remains Mexico's main tourism ally, noting that between January and June of this year, 7 million 361 thousand residents of that country arrived in Mexico by air. This figure represents an increase of 2.4 percent compared to 2024 and a 28.7 percent increase compared to 2019.

Furthermore, she reiterated that the binational flow between Mexico and the United States is the second most active in the world, a clear sign that the United States views Mexico as a strategic partner.

She also reported that in the first half of 2025, 23.4 million international tourists entered Mexico, a figure 7.3 percent higher than the same period in 2024 and 6.2 percent higher than in 2019.

Rodríguez Zamora underscored that Sectur is also working on the diversification of markets, promoting the arrival of tourists from emerging countries such as China and Brazil.

The Secretary announced that next year will be historic for the sector, with an intense agenda of international activities such as FITUR, ITB Americas, the Soccer World Cup, and the 50th edition of the Tianguis Turístico. These events will consolidate Mexico as a key player in the global industry.

For his part, the president of COPARMEX, Juan José Sierra Álvarez, highlighted that the Confederation and Sectur are working on a joint agenda that includes the competitiveness and sustainability of 18 tourist destinations, the creation of sustainable tourism observatories, a national strategy for crisis prevention and management, and the promotion of a legislative agenda in coordination with the tourism commissions of the Congress of the Union.

In his turn, the president of the National Tourism Business Council (CNET), Braulio Arsuaga, acknowledged the sector's progress and emphasized that tourism now represents 8 percent of the GDP, generating 2.5 trillion pesos last year and a tourism balance of 12 billion dollars in the first half of the year—a figure that doubles that of the manufacturing sector and far exceeds that of the oil sector.