GDP of the tourism sector in 2021 reacted better than anticipated

The reactivation of tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic is still underway and slightly exceeds expectations. The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reported this Thursday that, during 2021, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the tourism sector contributed 7.5% of the national GDP (in 2020 it did so with 6.8% and in 2019 with 8.6 percent).

The growth engine last year was the services component (mainly accommodation), which contributed 6.6%, while the goods component did so with 0.9 percent.

During the last year, the Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco, in his official speeches, raised his forecast for participation in tourism GDP from 7.1 to 7.4 percent. He said the latest data last October at his appearance in the Chamber of Deputies, where he estimated that by 2022 the contribution would be 8.4%, which would return to the average levels recorded prior to the health crisis.

Among the repeated arguments for the prompt reactivation that the official usually mentions are: the non-restriction of national and international flights (an action already recognized by the private sector), the biosanitary measures implemented together with the private sector, the universal vaccination process and the launch of the first edition of the digital tourist market.

However, in the medium term, the enthusiasm reported by the Inegi may be diluted by the lack of a national and international tourism promotion strategy such as the one in charge of the Tourism Promotion Council of Mexico (CPTM).

“In 2021, the tourist GDP reached an amount of 1,805,328 million pesos, which meant a participation of 7.5% with respect to the national GDP,” detailed the Inegi.

The resilience of tourism

Based on the 2021 Mexico Tourism Satellite Account, measured at 2013 prices, tourism GDP increased by 14.9%, while the total economy increased by 4.6% compared to 2020.

In the detail of the contribution to the national GDP of the main tourism GDP activities, the following were listed: accommodation services for visitors, passenger transport and the service of restaurants, bars and nightclubs with 2.4%, 1.2% and 1.1 %, respectively, respectively.

In addition, tourism activities generated 2,173,738 paid jobs, which is equivalent to 5.7% of the total jobs reported in the country.

New jobs reflected a growth of 8.3% compared to 2020. “The greatest contribution to job creation was recorded in the area of ​​restaurants, bars and nightclubs, with 28.1%, other services, with 25.7%, transportation of passengers, with 24.7%, and accommodation for visitors, with 10.2%”, said the Inegi.

consumption metering

Regarding the issue of tourist consumption, it was announced that, in 2021, the total expenditure of tourist consumption, made inside and outside the country, reached an amount of 3,121,033 million current pesos.

Of that amount, domestic tourism consumption contributed 95.6% of total spending and outbound tourism consumption represented 4.4%. In other words, of every 100 pesos spent by internal tourists (residents of the country) and receptive within the country, internal tourists contributed around 83 pesos, which once again shows the importance of travel within the country and that They have an alternative in the Magical Towns.

It should be remembered that the Inegi reported at the end of October that tourism GDP grew 5% during the second quarter of 2022, compared to the previous one, so that it already exceeded the level that tended in the same period of 2019 by 0.2%.

alejandro.delarosa@eleconomista.mx