Mexico’s Cultural Tourism Metrics: Key Growth Insights

From January to August this year, Mexico saw 3,225,000 visitors to its archaeological sites and museums. This represents a modest 3.6% increase compared to the same period in 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). This growth in cultural tourism, however, is significantly lower than the 27.2% increase reported last year.

Cultural tourism is defined as travel motivated by the desire to understand the unique spiritual and material elements that characterize a society or social group at a specific destination. This sector of the industry is seen as a transformative element for local communities, fostering sustainable and inclusive development.

The report reveals that archaeological sites faced the most challenges, with a 9.9% decrease in total visitors from January to August. Specifically, foreign visitor numbers to these sites dropped by 0.2%, while domestic visitor numbers fell by 15.2%. The most popular archaeological sites during this period were Chichén Itzá, Teotihuacán, Tulum, and Monte Albán.

Conversely, museums in the country saw a 22.3% annual increase in visitor numbers from January to August.

It's important to note that, overall, foreign tourism to Mexico began to recover in August, with 3,445,000 visitors, a 6.6% increase compared to August 2023, as per data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).