Mexico to Impose $15 Fee on Tourists

MEXICO CITY — Foreign visitors who make overnight trips to Mexico will have to pay a $15 entry fee starting July 1. The fee will not apply to those who cross the border on a day visit or stay in border towns.

Tourism Ministry officials estimate the fee will raise at least $120 million a year to help pay for the modernization of Mexico’s immigration systems and to subsidize tourism promotion services. Mexican officials say that most countries already charge for tourist visas, but some hotel organizations and other tourism services complained that this new fee will discourage visitors to Mexico.

The fee will be imposed on all foreigners arriving by air or land who venture more than 16 miles inland from the Mexican border. Cruise ship passengers will be charged only if they stay 72 hours or more.

Details have yet to be worked out on how the fee will be collected, but officials say the goal is to keep it simple. For example, airlines may be required to include the fee in their ticket prices.