Formula 1 economic impact versus Day of the Dead in Mexico City, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): Formula 1 generated more economic activity than the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico City, according to figures presented by Mayor Clara Brugada, the city’s head of government. The city government estimated a total economic impact of 36 billion pesos during the ten days when the motor race and the traditional festivities overlapped.
During a press conference on Tuesday, November 3, Brugada said Formula 1 accounted for 21 billion pesos of that total. She said more than 15 billion pesos corresponded to tourist lodging, offerings, culture, gastronomy and consumption, but did not specify how much of that amount was tied specifically to the Day of the Dead celebrations or to the sporting event.
Official estimates indicate the race accounted for about 58% of the total economic impact reported for the period. During the same span, parades, procession of catrinas, alebrije exhibitions and offerings took place at various points in the capital.
Brugada reported that average hotel occupancy in Mexico City reached 92% between Friday, October 30, and Sunday, November 1, and reached 100% in areas such as Roma-Condesa and the Airport. The capital received more than half a million tourists and visitors over that weekend, a 22% increase in tourists compared with the previous year, according to the government’s figures.
The head of government said the Mexico City Grand Prix drew an attendance of 405,000 people, ranking it as the fourth-largest Formula 1 event worldwide by attendance. She also highlighted that a free exhibition by driver Sergio “Checo” Pérez on Paseo de la Reforma drew more than 100,000 attendees.
Overall, the city government estimated cumulative attendance of about 8 million people at the sporting and cultural activities held during the ten days. Brugada also said roughly 1.6 million people visited the monumental Catrina installed in the Zócalo over four days, with an estimated 400,000 visitors per day.
Before the celebrations, on October 26, the Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism of Mexico City (Canaco CDMX) had projected an economic impact of 12.022 billion pesos from the Day of the Dead festivities, a 5% increase over 2025. That organization also forecast hotel occupancy between 75% and 85%, along with higher sales at restaurants, cafés, bars, bakeries, flower shops and businesses selling traditional offering products.
Although the hotel occupancy reported by Brugada exceeded Canaco’s expectations, the official figures do not make it possible to determine how much of the tourism and commercial activity was linked specifically to the Day of the Dead and how much to the Mexico City Grand Prix, since the two events coincided during the period analyzed.
