Mexico’s tourism sector started 2026 with extraordinary momentum.
According to the Confederation of Chambers of Commerce, Mexico received 16.85 million international visitors in the first two months of the year.
But behind these record-breaking figures lies a more complicated reality. While the headlines celebrate growth, the daily lives of most workers in the sector tell a different story.
The Numbers That Matter
The tourism industry remains one of Mexico’s most important economic engines. The 2026 spring holidays alone brought in nearly USD 1.6 billion in revenue. The government’s Tourism Sector Program 2025-2030 (PROSECTUR) explicitly acknowledges a core problem: tourism benefits remain concentrated in a few consolidated sun-and-beach destinations and large cities, leaving many communities with tourism potential—rural, indigenous, and Afro-Mexican—without adequate infrastructure or promotion.
Data from Concanaco paints a stark picture: 55.4% of Mexico’s 59.5 million employed workers operate in the informal economy. That means more than half of all workers lack access to social security, basic legal benefits, or job stability. In Quintana Roo, home to Cancún, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, the informal employment rate stands at 43%.
Octavio de la Torre, president of Concanaco Mexico’s tourism chamber of commerce, put it bluntly in a recent press conference. “We should celebrate that more Mexicans have jobs, but we cannot celebrate when those jobs are precarious,” he said.
The Gap Between Revenue and Wages
Mexico has created 6.9 million jobs over the past seven years. Of those, only 4 million are formal. The remaining 2.9 million—nearly half—offer no path to healthcare, housing loans, or retirement savings.
The contrast is sharp. International tourists spend money at all-inclusive resorts, chain restaurants, and duty-free shops. Much of that revenue flows upward to shareholders and large hotel corporations. Local markets, family-owned restaurants, and small tour operators—the businesses closest to visitors—often see only a fraction of the total spend.
De la Torre has acknowledged this disconnect. “The economic revenue is not just a number; it is the income of thousands of families,” he said. “The current challenge is that this capital reaches the local markets, restaurants, and shops that are closest to the visitor”.
Why Formalization Matters
Operating outside the formal economy comes with hidden costs. Informal workers have no safety net. A medical emergency or a slow season can push a family into crisis. Informal businesses struggle to access credit, invest in improvements, or grow beyond a subsistence level.
Concanaco’s research shows that opening a formal business in Mexico requires about 28,000 pesos (approximately $1,600 USD) just in paperwork and administrative costs. For a small neighborhood shop or a family food stall, that sum is prohibitive. Without incentives and simplification, these expenses become an insurmountable barrier.
The consequence of this barrier is massive. Of Mexico’s 6.1 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MiPyMEs)—which represent 99.8% of all businesses in the country—67% operate informally. Among micro-businesses, 75% lack formal registration.
What Success Looks Like
Industry analysts agree that Mexico’s tourism industry does not need to choose between growth and fairness. The country can aim to capture more visitor spending while ensuring that the benefits spread beyond a small number of large companies.
Community tourism offers one path. Small-scale cooperatives in indigenous and rural areas can offer authentic cultural experiences while keeping revenue within the community. Strengthening these models requires infrastructure investment, promotion, and technical support—exactly what the PROSECTUR program promises but has yet to deliver at scale.
Reducing informality also requires addressing the structural reasons why businesses stay outside the system. If formalization meant lower costs, simpler processes, and real benefits, more businesses would choose to register. If workers could see a clear path from informal labor to formal employment with healthcare and savings, more would demand it.