Mexico City - Mexico has become the most popular international destination for U.S. tourists, as a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Office said 15.2 million U.S. citizens visited Mexico in 2013.

The figure, up from 14.9 million in 2012, accounts for 32 percent of all international tourists from the U.S. in 2013, whereas 21 percent chose to spend time in Canada.

A report from the Banco de México, the nation’s central bank, said that international visitors to Mexico between January and October 2013 spent $11 million, 8.6 percent more than in 2012. The report predicted that the entire spend for 2013 would exceed the historic high in 2008.

Sectur reported that hotel occupations during the past year were up by 5.6 percent compared to 2012, as well as total private investment in the tourism industry of $112 billion pesos ($8.6 billion USD.)

There were 19 new airline routes created last year, 13 domestic and six international, with a 10.7 percent increase in international flights.

A report carried out by CNET and the Anáhuac México-Norte University discovered that there was an 8.4 increase in international travel into the country during the first eight months of 2013. The biggest increases were travelers from Colombia (58.4 percent), the U.K. (18 percent), the U.S (8.9 percent), Brazil (5.4 percent) and Argentina (4.9 percent).