Resumo: The hypothesis proposed in this paper is that the tourism statistics that are officially published in Mexico, particularly in the state of Jalisco, lack both the objectivity and the credibility required so that they may be considered as scientific knowledge. This is due to a sequence of mistakes, omissions, inconsistencies and even methodological manipulations in data collection and information processing. The methodology used is based on an appraisal of the specialized bibliography in tourism demand, and a consultation of the official sources publishing statistics in this field. Moreover, this information has been complemented with interviews conducted with public officials and representatives from the hotel sector. By way of conclusion, five proposals that seek to lessen the problems and challenges found are presented. First, to sensitize authorities and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry; second, to incentivize joint participation with higher education institutions; third, to analyse in greater depth the concepts based on the requirements and rigor that science demands; fourth, to generate a robust indicator that shows the proportion of tourists staying in tourist category establishments and, finally, to support the methods used to determine tourism demand based on the contributions provided by social theories.
