Brazilians No Longer Visit Mexico as Often

The Mexican government reported a drop in the arrival of Brazilian citizens to the country from September 2022 to January 2023. The decline in tourism is tied to the visa requirement Mexico implemented in August 2022.

In 2004, an agreement was reached so that Brazilians coming to Mexico would not need a visa to enter the country. They would only have to register on the Electronic Authorization System (SAE). However, in 2022, the Mexican government decided to request a visa due to increased irregular migration flows, which benefited criminal groups that Brazilians use to migrate to the US, often through unlawful channels.

The Mexican government's measures caused a drop of 58,815 Brazilian travelers in the past six months, causing the country to drop out of the Top 10 international tourists coming to Mexico. "In the biggest vacation period in the southern hemisphere, the Brazilian market did not appear in the Top 10 for the first time. This decrease is surely related to the change in Mexico's policy of issuing visas for this market," reported the Anahuac Center for Tourism Research and Competitiveness.

According to the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC), the main airlines between the two countries, Aeroméxico, GOL and LATAM Airlines, operated 15.2% fewer flights in January 2023 than in the same period in 2022. According to AFAC, arrivals of Brazilians to Mexico peaked in August and have since declined.

The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported that more than 38.3 million foreign tourists visited Mexico in 2022. The country received 20.3% more international tourists than in 2021, which increased foreign exchange earnings by 42%. In 2022, US citizens visited Mexico the most, representing 63.5% of all tourists, followed by Canadians, Colombians, the British, Spaniards, Argentinians, Peruvians, Brazilians, the French and Germans.

Government data for 2022 shows a recovery in tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Before the health crisis, Mexico was in the top 10 most visited countries in the world. In 2019, it had more than 45 million tourists who left US$24.563 billion. The Ministry of Tourism reported that Mexico expects 39.4 million tourists in 2023, which will bring US$31.2 billion to the Mexican economy.