Mexico City vs Panama City

Panama City leads Mexico City by 1 points on the CIRA Index, 58 to 57. Mexico City grades better on 8 measures, Panama City on 8; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Mexico City 57, Panama City 58
• OECD: Mexico City 59, Panama City 55
• UN Tourism: Mexico City 54, Panama City 61
• UNDRR: Mexico City 49, Panama City 56

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Mexico City 67, Panama City 67
• Economy and jobs: Mexico City 56, Panama City 50
• Climate and hazards: Mexico City 60, Panama City 40
• Water and environment: Mexico City 38, Panama City 58
• Community and housing: Mexico City 75, Panama City 42
• Access and continuity: Mexico City 58, Panama City 67

Where Mexico City is stronger

• Domestic share of nights: 70.9 % of nights by residents of the same country (Secretaría de Turismo de la Ciudad de México via El Universal / LAB-CO, 2023). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 65.3 % average annual occupancy (Instituto de Planeación Democrática y Prospectiva (IPDP) / Secretaría de Turismo de la Ciudad de México, Visor CDMX, August 2025). Between 65 and 75: grade 3/4.
• Unemployment rate: 4 % of the labour force (INEGI, Encuesta Nacional de Ocupación y Empleo (ENOE), Ciudad de México, Q2 2024). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Tropical nights: 0 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 10: grade 4/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 390.9 kg per resident per year (Secretaría del Medio Ambiente de la Ciudad de México (SEDEMA), Inventario de Residuos Sólidos, 2023). Between 350 and 450: grade 3/4.
• Tourism intensity: 3.3 visitor nights per resident per year (Secretaría de Turismo de la Ciudad de México / INEGI Censo y Proyecciones de Población, 2023). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Rent growth: 9.6 % change in rents over the last 12 months (Inmuebles24, Inmuebles24 Index CDMX (reported via Mexico Business News / TheLatinvestor), June 2025–June 2026). Between 6 and 10: grade 2/4.
• Short-let density: 0.9 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (AirDNA and Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), 2026). Between 0.5 and 1: grade 3/4.

Where Panama City is stronger

• Largest foreign market: 23.6 % of international arrivals or nights (country figure) (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP), Jan–Jun 2025). Between 20 and 30: grade 2/4.
• Recovery against 2019: 111.6 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (country figure) (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP) / Contraloría General de la República via Road Genius & La Prensa, 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Average length of stay: 8 nights per visitor (country figure) (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP), 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
• Income per head: 43,902 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 30,000 and 45,000: grade 2/4.
• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 52.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (United Nations SDG Country Profiles / WHO & UN-Habitat SDG 6.3.1 Database, 2024). Between 50 and 70: grade 1/4.
• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (GLP International Sales / Panama Canal Authority & Metro de Panamá, 2024). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (ATP), 2020–2025). Grade 2/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Mexico: #41 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Panama: #65 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Mexico City in full · Panama City in full

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