Semana Santa 2026 Sets Record: 7.82M Visitors, 30.74B Pesos in Tourism Revenue; International Arrivals up 8.5% YoY

Tourism Secretary Josefina Rodríguez presented Semana Santa 2026 figures at the April 24 mañanera, confirming the holiday week set new historic records for Mexico's tourism sector. A total of 7.82 million visitors traveled through Mexico during Semana Santa 2026, including 3.75 million international tourists — generating 30.74 billion pesos in economic activity, surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 levels. February 2026 also set records: 8.1 million international visitors, an 8.5% year-over-year increase. The strong Semana Santa performance is a positive economic signal ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 co-hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada starting June 11, 2026. World Cup preparations have accelerated infrastructure spending: the Estadio Azteca and five other Mexico venues are hosting 13 group-stage matches and one round of 16. The nationalization of the Tren Felipe Ángeles airport express — inaugurating April 26 to connect Buenavista to AIFA in 40 minutes — is expected to further boost international visitor mobility during the World Cup period. The government framed the tourism results as evidence that the security-economic strategy is working: international visitors are returning to Mexico despite recent incidents at Teotihuacán. Security reinforcements at heritage sites and tourist zones were boosted after the April 20 Teotihuacán shooting that killed a Canadian tourist, with 100,000 security forces deployed across the three World Cup host cities.