Int'l tourism to Mexico plummets 62.2 pct in August: Inegi

The flow of international tourists to Mexico plummeted 62.2 percent in August compared to the same month of last year, largely a result of lower air travel due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to a report published on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).

The number of international tourists that came to Mexico in August 2020 was 1,350,736, compared to 3,571,977 in August 2019, according to the Inegi Survey of International Travelers.

Air travel fell 74.5 percent in August compared to the same month of last year, while border tourism fell 55.2 percent, according to the Inegi monthly report.

"Of the total number of international tourists who entered the country during the eighth month of this year, 68 percent were tourists entering by air and the remaining 32 percent were tourists entering by land," the document said.

Mexico began on June 1 to gradually reactivate some sectors of the economy that had been closed since the end of March to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Tourism is one of Mexico's main sources of foreign exchange earnings, along with automotive exports, oil revenue, and foreign direct investment, according to official figures.