Mexico’s Tourism Activity Rises 3.4% in 2014

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MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s tourism activity expanded by 3.4 percent in the third quarter of 2014, compared to the same period in the previous year, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI, said Tuesday.

Spending by foreign and domestic tourists rose 2.8 percent in the July-September period, compared to the same period in 2013, the statistics agency said in a statement.

Spending by domestic tourists rose 1.8 percent, while spending by foreign tourists surged 12.9 percent during the period, the INEGI said.

Services offered to domestic and foreign tourists, the biggest component of the tourism industry within the gross domestic product (GDP), rose 4.5 percent in the third quarter, while the provision of goods contracted by 1.3 percent.

Mexico welcomed 23.7 million foreign tourists in 2014, generating more than $13.8 billion in revenues.

Tourism accounts for 8.4 percent of Mexico’s GDP and ranks as the No. 3 source of foreign exchange, trailing only the oil industry and remittances.

The tourism industry employs about 6.8 percent of Mexico’s population.