SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — So far this year, American tourists are not flying as much into Mexico when compared to previous years, according to the Sustainable Tourism Advanced Research Center, a group that collects travel data worldwide.
It says Mexico has stopped being “an attractive destination” with many travelers opting for vacations in Europe, Caribbean and Asia.
The tourism research group’s data shows air travel by Americans into Mexico is down by 2.3 percent.
Francisco Madrid, STARC‘s director, says Americans are discovering other destinations, including Asia, where travel to that part of the world is up by 17 percent.
Madrid also says Americans are not traveling as much as they try to save their money due to what he called a recession.
“Mexico should be more relevant considering the United States is its primary market, nevertheless, you can see a regression in the number of tourists arriving in Mexico, especially those focused on beachside destinations.”
Madrid said they used statistics provided by Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism to make their assessment.
“Cancun, the second most visited air travel destination for Americans, is down in terms of arrivals from the U.S. by 7 percent during the first four months this year.”
He says in response to the lower numbers of Americans flying to Mexico, airlines like Aeromexico and Volaris have cut back on the number flights into Mexico.
Madrid expects the trend to continue through the end of the year and says Americans should expect lower fares in the coming months as an incentive to get them to travel to Mexico.
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