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International travel to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has surpassed pre-pandemic levels during the summer and at a higher rate than the other three southern border states.

The number of travelers coming into ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ through a port of entry either by land or plane surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time in April, at nearly 2 million travelers compared to about 1.9 million in April of 2019, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.

“ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s tourism industry continues to do an outstanding job of marketing our state’s amazing experiences and wide-open spaces to leisure travelers,â€� said Debbie Johnson, director of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Office of Tourism in a statement. “There’s strong competition and plenty of work ahead, but we’re very happy that visitors are seeing and selecting ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ as one of their favorite vacation destinations.â€�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is the only southern border state that sustained higher-than-pre-pandemic levels through July, the last month with available data. And its increase in travelers is a higher percentage than in any other border state.

Nearly 16 million international travelers crossed into ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ from April through July, more than 3.6% higher than in those months in 2019. New Mexico saw a 2.25% increase while international travelers to Texas’ border region during those months remained more than 1% lower than in 2019 and California’s was more than 7% lower.

This federal data includes people coming to the state as tourists and those who cross the border for things like jobs, doctor visits and commercial trade, meaning this data represents economic impacts in more than just the tourist industry and beyond ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.

Both exports and imports through ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ border ports are well above preâ€�pandemic levels as well, according to .

The rebound in tourism has to do with the investment in marketing as well as ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s outdoor recreation opportunities, including more than 50 state and national parks and recreation areas, says ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Office of Tourism spokesman Josh Coddington.

“ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is blessed to have a lot of varied terrain that you can visit, a lot of different types of landscapes and areas, from desert parts of the state all the way to Flagstaff and northern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥,â€� he said.

Spending, overnight stays

Tourism to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has been rebounding since 2021.

Data comparisons from 2021 show the state’s recovery of both visitor spending and overnight stays outpaced the national average, according to research released by the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Office of Tourism in July.

In 2021, overnight visitors spent $23.6 billion across the state, which was equivalent to 92% of the all-time high in 2019, compared to visitor spending being 76% of 2019 levels nationwide.

Although this research has not been conducted on 2022 numbers yet, there is some 2022 data available that shows pandemic recovery is still tentative.

Despite the number of international travelers entering the state being above pre-pandemic levels, overall visitor spending was still below in July. Visitors to the state, domestic and international, spent $1.5 billion this July, compared to $1.78 billion last July and $1.6 billion in July 2019, according to data provided by the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Office of Tourism.

Coddington attributed this in part to pent-up travel demand leading to more people traveling earlier in the year.

Total overnight visitation, including domestic, showed similar results as spending, with 40.9 million visitors to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in 2021, equaling 87% of the 2019 level, compared to 85% of 2019 levels nationwide.

The 2021 research shows that international overnight visitation remained heavily impacted by the pandemic. Three million international visitors chose ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ as an overnight destination in 2021. While that number was more than in 2020, it was just 51% of 2019 levels.

Of those 3 million overnight visitors in 2021, 2.5 million were from Mexico, compared to about 3.8 million in 2019.

Mexican spending important to economy

Mexican visitors account for the largest portion of all spending by international travelers to the state.

“We’ve been working hard to rebuild international tourism, and Mexican visitors are really critical to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ because they account for one-third of all spending by international visitors,â€� Coddington said.

The nonprofit Visit ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has arranged a series of events to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The inaugural year of ¡Viva ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥! kicked off Thursday night with a free Mexican Independence Day Concert with the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Symphony Orchestra at the Fox Theatre, hosted in coordination with the Mexican Consulate in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.

Visit ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ expects a lot of out-of-town visitors to come for the month of events, says spokeswoman Megan Evans.

“There are Hispanic cultural elements that are omnipresent in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s food, art, music, events and the sense of community, so it makes sense for us to create cohesion among all of those events,â€� she said. “It made sense for us to connect them all together to create Viva ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ so that people can really look at our destination as being one that is super cutting edge and welcoming to people from all countries, but specifically, our Latin American and Mexican friends.â€�

For a full list of events go to .