Mexico’s hotel market showed varied performance across destinations in 2024. Occupancy was 59.3% across 70 selected tourist centers for the full year, while visitor accommodation generated 568,815 million current pesos in tourism GDP. Destination results differed sharply: December occupancy reached 88.9% in Akumal, but selected cities such as Guanajuato and Zacatecas recorded less than 30% in January–March.
Table of contents
- Mexico-wide hotel occupancy
- Room supply in selected destinations
- Occupied rooms and destination occupancy
- High-occupancy resort centers
- Tourism GDP and accommodation
- Tourism spending and hotel demand
- Tourism and accommodation employment
Mexico-wide hotel occupancy
The available occupancy measures cover different samples and periods, so they should not be treated as one continuous national series. The March report covers selected destinations during January–March 2024. The December report covers 70 selected Mexican tourist centers for the full year and provides a separate December result.
Across the selected destinations, hotel occupancy was 54.0% in January–March 2024. Hotels averaged 49,965 occupied rooms per day, against 90,795 available rooms per day during that period. These figures describe daily averages for the selected destinations, rather than every lodging property in Mexico. RESULTADOS PRELIMINARES ACUMULADOS AL MES DE MARZO
For the 70 selected tourist centers, hotel occupancy was 59.3% across January–December 2024. The same annual report recorded an average of 263,090 occupied rooms per day. In December 2024, occupancy was 59.5%, with 263,954 occupied rooms per day across those centers. The annual and December measures are close, but they represent different time windows: one covers the entire year and the other covers December alone. Diciembre turismo en cifras
The difference between the January–March selected-destination occupancy figure and the full-year 70-center figure should be read as a difference in scope and period, not as a precise quarter-to-year change. The reports do not establish that the same properties or destinations are included in both measures.
Room supply in selected destinations
Room availability varied considerably across the destinations reported for January–March 2024. Mexico City had by far the largest listed supply, with an average of 53,534 available rooms per day. Puebla averaged 10,140 available rooms, while Querétaro averaged 7,406 and Oaxaca averaged 6,046.
The remaining destinations in this selected group had smaller daily supplies. Morelia averaged 3,932 available rooms, Guanajuato 3,357, San Miguel de Allende 3,073, and Zacatecas 3,030. Campeche averaged 2,076 available rooms per day. These are average available-room measures for January–March, not a count of every room that exists in the destination or a year-end inventory.
| Destination | Average available rooms per day | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico City | 53,534 | January–March 2024 |
| Puebla | 10,140 | January–March 2024 |
| Querétaro | 7,406 | January–March 2024 |
| Oaxaca | 6,046 | January–March 2024 |
| Morelia | 3,932 | January–March 2024 |
| Guanajuato | 3,357 | January–March 2024 |
| San Miguel de Allende | 3,073 | January–March 2024 |
| Zacatecas | 3,030 | January–March 2024 |
| Campeche | 2,076 | January–March 2024 |
For travelers, the supply figures help explain why the same number of visitors can have different effects in different destinations. A large market such as Mexico City has more listed room capacity, while a smaller destination can face tighter availability when demand concentrates around a specific period. The figures themselves do not measure prices, room types, or whether rooms were available at a traveler’s preferred budget.
Occupied rooms and destination occupancy
The January–March 2024 destination results show a broad range of hotel use. Mexico City averaged 30,735 occupied rooms per day and 57.4% occupancy. Puebla averaged 5,565 occupied rooms and 54.9% occupancy, while Querétaro averaged 4,269 occupied rooms and 57.6% occupancy.
Oaxaca averaged 3,366 occupied rooms per day, with occupancy of 55.7%. Morelia averaged 1,853 occupied rooms and 47.1% occupancy. Campeche averaged 1,124 occupied rooms and 54.2% occupancy. The reported occupied-room averages and occupancy rates provide two complementary views: the first indicates the volume of rooms used, while the second indicates hotel use relative to the available supply reported for that destination.
Smaller markets recorded lower occupancy in this period. San Miguel de Allende averaged 1,218 occupied rooms per day and 39.6% occupancy. Zacatecas averaged 872 occupied rooms and 28.8% occupancy. Guanajuato averaged 963 occupied rooms and 28.7% occupancy.
| Destination | Occupied rooms per day | Occupancy |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico City | 30,735 | 57.4% |
| Puebla | 5,565 | 54.9% |
| Querétaro | 4,269 | 57.6% |
| Oaxaca | 3,366 | 55.7% |
| Morelia | 1,853 | 47.1% |
| San Miguel de Allende | 1,218 | 39.6% |
| Campeche | 1,124 | 54.2% |
| Guanajuato | 963 | 28.7% |
| Zacatecas | 872 | 28.8% |
The contrast between Mexico City and the smaller destinations is not simply a ranking of traveler interest. Occupancy is affected by the amount of available supply, the timing of demand, the destination’s visitor mix, and the reporting scope. A destination can have fewer occupied rooms but a relatively high occupancy rate if its room supply is smaller; conversely, a large destination can have more occupied rooms while operating at a similar or lower percentage of capacity.
High-occupancy resort centers
The December 2024 results for the selected tourist centers also show how strongly occupancy can vary by destination and season. Akumal recorded 88.9% hotel occupancy in December, while Playacar recorded 88.3%. Both figures were reported among the selected centers in the December tourism report.
These resort-center percentages are not directly comparable with the January–March city figures as a measure of annual performance. They describe December 2024 and come from the 70-center reporting framework. They are useful for understanding destination-level variation, but they do not provide room counts for Akumal or Playacar in the supplied figures. Diciembre turismo en cifras
Tourism GDP and accommodation
Mexico’s tourism economy reached 2,713,120 million current pesos in GDP in 2024. Tourism represented 8.7% of Mexico’s total GDP. Within tourism GDP, visitor accommodation generated 568,815 million current pesos and represented 1.8% of total Mexican GDP.
The accommodation measure also has a real-value presentation: visitor accommodation’s real GDP was 455,050 million pesos at 2018 prices in 2024. Its real GDP grew 1.2% in 2024 versus 2023. Current-peso and constant-price figures answer different questions. Current pesos describe the value at the prices of the reporting year, while the 2018-price measure is intended to show real economic output with a fixed price basis.
Visitor accommodation’s 2024 contribution places hotels and related lodging within a broader tourism system rather than treating room sales as the entire sector. The tourism GDP total includes the wider activity captured by the tourism account, while the accommodation figure isolates the visitor-accommodation component. Cuenta Satélite del Turismo de México (CSTM), 2024
Tourism spending and hotel demand
Total tourism consumption inside and outside Mexico reached 4,796,438 million current pesos in 2024. Tourism consumption within Mexico reached 4,507,058 million current pesos. Of that within-Mexico total, domestic tourism consumption by Mexican residents reached 3,739,481 million current pesos, while inbound tourism consumption by visitors from abroad reached 767,577 million current pesos.
The tourism account reported that residents’ domestic tourism consumption represented 83.0% of tourism consumption within Mexico. Inbound tourism consumption represented 17.0%. These shares describe spending within Mexico by the two groups; they are not hotel occupancy shares and do not indicate the percentage of hotel guests who were domestic or international.
| Spending measure | 2024 value or share | Measurement basis |
|---|---|---|
| Total tourism consumption inside and outside Mexico | 4,796,438 million current pesos | Total tourism consumption |
| Tourism consumption within Mexico | 4,507,058 million current pesos | Within Mexico |
| Domestic consumption by Mexican residents | 3,739,481 million current pesos | Within Mexico |
| Inbound consumption by visitors from abroad | 767,577 million current pesos | Within Mexico |
| Residents’ share of within-Mexico consumption | 83.0% | Within Mexico |
| Inbound share of within-Mexico consumption | 17.0% | Within Mexico |
Travel purpose also differed between the two consumption groups. Vacation travel accounted for 28.6% of domestic tourism consumption in 2024. Vacation travel accounted for 78.4% of inbound tourism consumption. These percentages describe the reported consumption categories and should not be read as the share of hotel nights attributable to vacations.
For trip planning, the figures show why hotel demand can be supported by both resident travel and visitors from abroad, with different spending profiles. They do not provide destination-level spending, average daily hotel rates, length of stay, or a forecast for a future travel period. Cuenta Satélite del Turismo de México (CSTM), 2024
Tourism and accommodation employment
Mexico recorded 2,931,592 paid jobs in tourism activities in 2024. Paid tourism jobs grew 3.5% in 2024 versus 2023. Visitor accommodation accounted for 409,974 paid jobs, representing 14.0% of paid tourism jobs. Paid jobs in visitor accommodation grew 5.0% in 2024 versus 2023.
The prior-year accommodation figure was 390,373 paid jobs in 2023, when visitor accommodation represented 13.8% of paid tourism jobs. The source reports both years and their shares; the 2024 and 2023 measures should be understood within the tourism employment accounting framework and are not a count of unique people.
Other tourism employment categories were larger in the supplied 2024 figures. Tourism services accounted for 2,752,946 paid jobs. Restaurants, bars, and nightclubs accounted for 679,178 paid tourism jobs, while passenger transport accounted for 669,907 paid tourism jobs. These categories help place visitor accommodation in context: lodging is a substantial tourism employer, but hotel demand connects to food service, transport, and other tourism activities as well.
The employment results point to a lodging sector that grew faster than total paid tourism jobs on the reported year-over-year measures: accommodation jobs grew 5.0%, compared with 3.5% for paid tourism jobs overall. That comparison uses the published growth rates and does not estimate wages, staffing per room, vacancies, or the number of seasonal workers. Cuenta Satélite del Turismo de México (CSTM), 2024