Mexico received 16.7 million tourists in the first nine months of the year earning the country $9 billion in tourism dollars according to the Mexico Tourism Board. This reflects a 7.7 percent increase compared to last year and in spite of rising drug cartel violence. The country was also on several international travel warning lists, including the U.S.
On average a Mexican tourist spends $450.80 per visit and that is an increase from last year. Tourism from cruise ship travel was also notable for this year bringing the Mexican government $393 million. Mexico’s tourism suffered declines last year due to the swine flu outbreak in the country.
