Study examines trafficking risks across Mexico's tourism chain
An Aeroméxico- and UNODC-presented study examines trafficking risks in Mexico City, Cancún and Puerto Vallarta, citing victim totals, sexual-exploitation data and a training gap among tourism workers.
A study sponsored by Aeroméxico and presented with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime examines how human trafficking risks intersect with tourism in Mexico City, Cancún and Puerto Vallarta. According to El Financiero, the report identifies airports, bus stations, hotels, digital-platform lodging and restaurants as potential blind spots in the tourism chain, where high visitor traffic and social vulnerability can overlap.
The report says Mexico is a country of origin, transit and destination for trafficking victims. Data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, cited in the study, show that 63% of registered cases from 2020 through 2023 involved sexual exploitation. The same reports identified 9,018 victims between 2015 and 2025. The study describes 11 forms of exploitation, including forced labor, sexual exploitation, forced begging, illegal adoption and trafficking in organs.
El Financiero reported that 84% of tourism workers surveyed said they had knowledge of human trafficking, while more than 40% said they had never received specific training on the subject. The study argues that tourism workers could help identify warning signs because they interact with travelers throughout the chain. Aeroméxico, led by Andrés Conesa Labastida, described the research as the first of its kind to examine the relationship between trafficking and tourism across the three destinations.