Lighthouse data shows Brazil hotel rates surged 22% YoY in H1 2026 across 34 of 35 tracked destinations, driven by record household earnings growth and 37% international arrivals growth in 2025.
Far from being affected, the tourism sector in Mexico benefited from the volatility and depreciation of the exchange rate, the outcome of the 2016 electoral process in the United States, and the international uncertainty that negatively impacted other sectors of the economy.
Tourism sector in Mexico represents 8.7% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a figure exceeding the contribution of oil industry, which amounts to 7%, according to Teresa Solis Trejo, Deputy Director of Planning and Tourism Policies of the Ministry of Tourism.
"The tourism sector is an industry that, thanks to its size and performance in recent years, is becoming one of the driving forces of the national economy," the federal official said.
Mexico has been able to latch onto the global tourism explosion, and just in time. In this period of great uncertainty, due to the potential impact of the Trump era, the Mexican tourism sector – which already represents 8.5% of the country's GDP – is going through the best period in its entire history, and has become – after the manufacturing sector and remittances – the principal driving force behind the economy. It is, however, starting to show signs of stagnation. The arrival rate of foreign visitors grew by 9% in 2016, reaching 35 million people. The increase in foreign currency entering the country was 10%; and the tourism industry's account balance (dollar inflow versus dollar outflow) improved by 22% thanks to the fact that there were more foreign visitors entering the country than Mexican citizens traveling abroad.
The Brazilian Ministry of Tourism believes that the positive numbers of carnival tourism sector emphasize the importance of the holiday for the economy of all regions.
The Carnival revelry worked as a dynamo for the economy, generated jobs and attracted visitors in all regions of Brazil.
In Salvador, for instance, traditionally one of the key destinations for carnival tourism, the hotel occupancy rate reached 95% throughout the holiday season, hence generating 200 thousand temporary jobs. Bahia’s Secretariat of Tourism (Setur) estimates that 600 thousand tourists have visited the Bahian capital city, an increase of 9% in comparison with the previous year of 2016. Of these, 10% have come from abroad. 2 million visitors were registered throughout the state, a number responsible for pumping R$ 1,5 billion into the Bahian economy.
Following the US presidential election, there will be a slowdown in the rate of international tourist arrivals in Mexico, which will grow by only 7 per cent per year, according to estimates by Anáhuac University and the National Business Tourism Council focusing on the outlook of Mexican tourism.
Just before the elections on November 8 last year, Francisco Madrid, a tourism specialist, asked industry bosses whether Mexican tourism would be adversely affected if Trump won the election, and 54 per cent answered yes.
Honduran tourism sector, better known as the "chimneyfree industry," is expected to jump from 4 to 15% growth this year.
The increase is projected to generate more than 800 million dollars in foreign currency for the country, according to estimates by officials of the Honduran Tourism Institute (IHT). The Honduran economy will get a billion-dollar contribution from the travel and tourism sector this year.
Average tourist spending by foreign visitors to Mexico is only half of what it is in Dominican Republic, and at least 300% below that of the United States, India and Australia, according to a study by Anahuac University and the National Tourism Business Council (CNET).
Hoteliers are betting on Los Cabos’ reputation as a top destination for luxury travelers, as they continue to bring upscale brands to the area. The good news: it seems to be paying off. The hot spot saw a 14.7% tourism increase in 2015 compared to 2014, welcoming more than 1.5 million tourists a year. Delta Vacations and Aeromexico Vacations bookings to the destination have seen “healthy double-digit increases,” said Delta Vacations senior vice president of marketing and product development Tina Iglio. Iglio predicts Los Cabos will “represent a huge opportunity for travel agents in 2016.”
Every year, the hotel experts and analysts at Horwath HTL worldwide produce a series of mini-country reports exclusively for The Hotel Yearbook. Each report focuses on just two things: first, a quick snapshot of the country’s current economic and hotel market situation, and second, the outlook for the year ahead, highlighting specific events that are anticipated to have an impact on the health of the country’s hotel business.
By the end of 2013, the National Government seems to be applying some changes in the macroeconomic orientation of its policies, seeking more fluid economic and financial relationships with the rest of the world.
Currently, the conditions for the development of business activity are optimal, due mainly to an atmosphere of security and political stability that was not present in the preceding years.
In 2014 the economies of the source markets for visitors to Mexico will enjoy better performance than in 2013, so optimistic projections are expected for international tourist arrivals and the revenues they generate.
Wellness tourism is among the sectors with the greatest potential for development. International trends show a significant level of growth in the number of travelers looking for hotels and rest areas that offer natural therapies, spas and thalassotherapy. Another area with potential is nautical tourism. The country will host the most important nautical exhibition in Latin America.
Chile is expected to keep on being regarded as a favorable destination both for tourism development and hotel investments, due to its political and economic stability and to the fact that the arrival of foreign tourists has increased steadily in recent years. National GDP is expected to grow 4.5% and the increase of consumer prices will remain low (forecasted 3%).
2014 will finally arrive and we will see the real impact, in performance terms, of the FIFA World Cup to be held next year in Brazil. Apart from the specific impact that this event will have in the host cities and in other secondary cities, the overall macroeconomic scenario for Brazil remains modest for next year, with growth forecasted of 2.5% for the national GDP and a similar inflation rate (5.8%).
How have the main Brazilian hospitality markets evolved in the past years and what are the perspectives for the post-crisis? This report shows an overview and an outlook about the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador and Curitiba.
As the first country in the world to experience an outbreak of the now widespread A(H1N1) influenza virus, Mexico has been really hard hit in terms of tourism demand over the past three months. Preliminary estimates from the Mexican Government put the impact so far at around US$200-$300 million, but the final toll could well be much greater. More than 2,000 inbound flights were cancelled during the early stages of the crisis.