Four years later and after a 16-hour flight, China Southern Airlines reactivated connectivity with Mexico that was interrupted by the pandemic. This international route is the longest in China’s history with a distance of 14,147 kilometers, surpassing the Guangzhou-New York flight.
Miguel Torruco Marqués, head of the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur), detailed that this direct flight departs from the city of Shenzhen, China, to the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) for both passengers and cargo. It will have a layover on the return flight in Tijuana, with two weekly frequencies.
He mentioned that China is a key player in international tourism as both an origin and destination market globally and regionally, ranking first in Asia in terms of tourists traveling to Mexico. Additionally, China is positioned in the UN World Tourism Organization, previously UNWTO, as the second-largest spender in tourism after the United States, according to 2022 data.
During 2019, Mexico received 167,145 Chinese tourists by air, generating a tourism expenditure of 167,377 million dollars. In 2023, 161,316 tourists arrived from China, with an expenditure of 181,634 million dollars, representing an 8.5% increase compared to 2019.
In the first quarter of 2024, Mexico welcomed 52,140 Chinese tourists by air, representing a 54% increase compared to 2023, capturing 65,754 million dollars, 60% higher than the previous year.
Torruco Marqués pointed out that during the current administration, 423 international flights to Mexico have been created, with 60.8% from North America, 29.1% from Central, South America, and the Caribbean, 9% from Europe, and 1.2% from Asia.
China Southern Airlines currently operates more than three thousand daily flights to 224 destinations in 40 countries worldwide. The opening of this flight will further strengthen commercial and tourist ties between Mexico and China, with continued collaboration to promote tourism in Mexico.
Meanwhile, Zhang Run, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Mexico, celebrated the opening of the first direct flight between China and Mexico after the pandemic.
“This would not have been possible without the joint efforts of the government departments of Foreign Relations, Tourism, and Civil Aviation of Mexico,” he noted.
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