Breaking Travel News: Mexico Walks Back Charging Tourists Hefty Duties for Multiple Electronic Devices

That was fast. Just a month after a wave of media stories about arriving travelers being dinged with hundreds of dollars in duties for their devices, Mexican authorities say they have eliminated the controversial – and dated - rules. 

As you likely read here in September 2024, Mexican customs regulations stipulated that anyone arriving in the country was allowed one ‘portable computing device.’ Customs officers – especially at the Cancun airport, Mexico’s busiest - were apparently interpreting that to mean one laptop OR one tablet/ iPad. Some unsuspecting visitors bringing both were finding themselves being charged nearly USD $200 in import duties for the second device. Anyone who couldn’t or wouldn’t pay risked having the second item confiscated.

That had travelers crying foul – and the story of one travel advisor, a frequent visitor to Mexico on business, caught the attention of the press and went viral. Suddenly, similar stories from other travelers were coming out of the woodwork. 

It wasn’t a good color for a country whose economy relies heavily on tourism. 

The import/ customs regulations themselves were decades old, dating from an era when things like the number of CDs you could bring into Mexico were also restricted. And it appears that those old laws were being enforced with new vigor – even as modern life means most of us to carry around more devices than ever! You likely aren’t surprised to hear that one report claims the average American now travels with four gadgets!

Well, not everyone in Mexico was siding with the customs agents. Local tourism representatives quickly spoke out. And it looks like cooler heads have prevailed.  

Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama posted a video posted on Facebook, announcing an immediate end to fining visitors for multiple devices. 

"We managed to eliminate the charge for bringing more than one computer or electronic tablet into your personal luggage, within the #Cancun International Airport, with the support of Mexican Customs," she declared.

She attributed the turnabout directly to visitors speaking out and to the negative media reports, saying the change was “as a result of various uncomfortable and inconvenient situations detected at customs in the Cancun International Airport which have affected our destination's image.”

She said officials “visited the area and reviewed the criteria used to allow tourists through customs and thanks to the support and consideration of the National Customs Agency of Mexico, we reviewed the procedure to reactivate the tourists flow through customs and eliminate this criteria."

The result? Good news for visitors to Mexico: 

“The decision was reached to eliminate the criteria in place. This was an old franchise regulation that no longer aligns with these times of technology, home office, in addition to the key tourism sector who travel to our destination to attend conferences, conventions and professional meetings," she announced.

"We are thankful to the authorities for their sensibility and for listening with the goal to adapt to this new era, and beginning today, this charge has been eliminated.”

So travelers to Mexico can breathe easily again while packing the usual assortment of digital devices you’ll need to stay connected or on top of work, entertain your kids, or chill with that e-book you’ve been meaning to read when you can finally take that well-deserved break on a beach vacation.

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By: Lynn Elmhirst, travel journalist.

Image: Getty

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