Mexican Visa requirement for Brazilian tourists is costly for Cancun: US$5 million loss

Due to the Mexican Federal Government’s decision to require tourist visas for Brazilian citizens, Cancun, one of the most important destinations for tourism, lost around US$5 million in revenue during the summer.

It is a blow to the tourism sector, which continues below pre-pandemic levels.

In an interview with the media, Dario Flota, general director of the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo (CPTQ), explained that nearly 2,000 Brazilian tourists could not reach the destination.

The economic loss and expense data correspond to one of the most important tour operators, who had to suspend their budgeted events due to the Mexican government’s demands.

Although the arrival of tourists from Brazil only represents 1.5% of the total number of travelers arriving in Cancun, the revenue they produce is important for the Caribbean destination.

Flota pointed out that the visas for Brazilians that have been implemented will affect travel and pointed out that the number will increase because some of them will no longer be able to arrive in the country.

Even Gol, an airline from Rio de Janeiro, announced the reduction of flight frequencies between Brazil and Cancun due to the new Mexican immigration regulations.

At the beginning of August, Mexico’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior informed visas would be required as of August 18.

The agreement published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on August 3 states that this measure eliminates the Electronic Authorization System (SAE), which allowed holders of ordinary passports of Brazilian nationality to travel to Mexico for tourism, business, and cultural purposes.

INTERNATIONAL TOURISM IN MEXICO DOES NOT RECOVER

The recovery of the tourism sector continues to approach the levels registered before the pandemic. In June, 3.4 million foreigners arrived in Mexico to vacation, a figure 13% down compared to the same month of 2019.

According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), the sixth month of the year saw a growth in the number of international tourists of 7.8% compared to the same period last year, when the country received just over 3.1 million travelers.

The total revenue generated by international tourists has had a better recovery than the volume of tourists vacationing in Mexico. In June, the inflow of foreign currency from tourism amounted to US$2.3 million, an increase of 20.2% compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, average spending, that is, what each international tourist spends during their stay in the country, increased 11.5%, reaching US$673 per foreign tourist.

With information from El Financiero