Quintana Roo is one of the nine entities in the country where culture is a major contributor to the state’s Gross Domestic Product, with 19,489 million pesos in 2022, 4.64% of the state’s total GDP.
Although it does not have large museums, the Mexican Caribbean ranks 12th among the states in terms of GDP generated last year, according to the Mexican Cultural Satellite Account published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).
Currently, this segment of the country’s tourist activity is one of the most appreciated by international visitors. Quintana Roo has the advantage of having cultural, natural, and mixed sites that are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as the ruins of Tulum.
Handicrafts, performing arts, and shows are the areas that generate the most economic wealth in the cultural sector.
These generated 8,000,000,861 million pesos, 45% of the total cultural Gross Domestic Product.
These are mainly pottery and ceramics, plant and textile fibers, wood, mack and varnish, musical instruments and toys, cardboard and paper, plastics, equipment and pyrotechnics, metalwork, jewelry and goldsmithing, lapidary, stonework and glass, saddlery and leather goods, and typical food and sweets.
“This sector also includes the production of handicrafts for personal use as well as public administration activities aimed at preserving and promoting popular culture,” says INEGI.
In the case of performing arts and shows, the GDP was 2,000,000,871 million pesos. These are “live cultural events and shows related to theater, dance, opera, artistic and cultural performances in general, including sports.”
“This area also focuses on the production of cultural performances on public streets by private households; the economic valuation of volunteer work in various artistic and sporting events; as well as volunteer work and contributions in cash and in kind for the organization and holding of fairs and festivals,” explains the organization.
In the case of Quintana Roo, culture has generated 27,230 jobs, from artisans selling their products on the streets to tourist guides in the ruins of Cancun to the staff of a center that offers cultural content.
Quintana Roo’s cultural GDP grew by 15.5%, meaning it has not only recovered but surpassed the figures before the pandemic.