Josefina Rodríguez, Secretary of Tourism of Mexico: “We want to be the fifth most visited country in the world in 2030” | Economy | EUROtoday

Josefina Rodríguez (Atlangatepec, Mexico, 36 years outdated) is the youngest particular person in Claudia Sheinbaum’s Cabinet since she accepted the place of Secretary of Tourism, equal to minister in Spain, in October 2024. With a level in Business Administration from the Universidad Iberoamericana de Puebla, and at present finding out a grasp’s diploma in Senior Management on the Universidad del Valle de Tlaxcala, Rodríguez heads the very giant Mexican delegation on the International Tourism Fair (Fitur). The largest international occasion within the sector, which opened on Wednesday, has Mexico as a visitor nation on this version. For this cause, Rodríguez has traveled to Madrid, the place he studies to EL PAÍS.

The sixth most visited vacation spot on the earth seeks to proceed climbing in that classification, by which it is just forward of France, Spain, the United States, Türkiye and Italy. “We want to go up one step and we have a national plan to reach fifth place with 70 million travelers in 2030.” [cerró 2025 con 48 millones]”, emphasizes the Mexican tourism official. The axes of the plan are, like Spain, to get out of the monoculture of sun and sand and promote other ways of traveling. “That is what we come to elucidate to Fitur. We need there to be cultural tourism, that locations that weren’t on the vacationer scene now are and that the time period shared prosperity attain your complete nation,” he develops.

The discount of poverty and social inequality are repeated in Rodríguez’s speech, who considers that tourism, which represents 8.7% of the nationwide GDP and gives 5 million direct jobs (10% of the entire), is a key vector to realize these two goals. “In Mexico 13 million came out of extreme poverty [entre 2018 y 2024, el sexenio de Gobierno de Andrés Manuel López Obrador, según estimaciones recientes del instituto estadístico nacional]of which 9% joined the tourism activity. That is something exceptional. There you see how all the activities linked to tourism are a great niche opportunity to eliminate social inequality. Tourism is the first employer of young people and the second of women. And it is a segment that is within the service industry, but that has a name and surname in Mexico,” Rodríguez emphasizes.

The Mexican Government’s aspiration shouldn’t be solely to draw extra vacationers, but in addition to go away extra money throughout their stays. “More tourists do not serve us without generating more spending. In 2025 we grew by 7% in the spending they make during their stays and we want spending to continue increasing until reaching an increase of 15% until 2030.” This will imply a revolution within the markets that ship vacationers to Mexico, till now monopolized by the United States, which gives 60% of international guests, adopted far behind by Canada, with 15%. “We want to knock on the door of new markets. We need travelers who spend more and make longer stays,” emphasizes Rodríguez. The Secretary of Tourism names China or Korea as two of the primary goals, though she additionally highlights the essential progress skilled by Canada, with a 12% development within the arrival of vacationers.

Diplomatic relations with its first supply of vacationers have been troubled since final 12 months, when the US president selected to launch a commerce struggle towards its giant companions, with the imposition of tariffs in key sectors for its financial system and a speech accusing them of being accountable for the issues of the US financial system. The Secretary of Tourism denies that this has had a destructive affect on the arrival of vacationers from its first supply market. “Every month 1.5 million Americans arrive and that number continues to grow. Our president has done a great job of continuing to make Mexico a good host country, with full sovereignty and great leadership. And I think that has undoubtedly reached other countries that perhaps did not see Mexico as a place to visit and have changed routes to visit it.”

To obtain this objective of 70 million, native funding will probably be important to enhance infrastructure. And amongst them, Rodríguez highlights the six trains that may join your complete middle of the nation with the completely different vacationer areas of Mexico and with the Mayan prepare. “That is going to be what is going to open new markets.” In parallel, the National Tourism Promotion Fund (Fonatur) has been launched, the instrument with which the Mexican Government desires to advertise the arrival of personal capital to unite it with the general public and promote the event of huge initiatives.