During the week of August 24-30, Hotel occupancy in the main tourist destinations in Quintana Roo, Costa Mujeres, reached 69.8%, Tulum 67.8%, Cancun 63.9%, Riviera Maya 63.6%, Isla Mujeres 61.2%, Puerto Morelos 51.2%, Cozumel 43.1% and Costa Maya 39%, generating concern due to its unusually low level for this time of year.
Tourism strategies have not been enough to boost the figures for tourist arrivals and economic impact in Quintana Roo destinations, highlighting that Mexican visitors have rescued the industry somewhat, becoming the second market for the State, only below American tourists.
As reported by the Quintana Roo Tourism Secretariat, in the first half of 2024, the composition of tourism by origin revealed that the United States continues to be the main source of tourists, with a notable 39.10% of the total. Mexico remains the second country with the largest presence, representing 31.70%. Canada ranks third with 11.40%. The following places correspond to the United Kingdom with 2.10%; France with 1.30%; Colombia with 1.50%; Argentina with 1.30%. Spain contributes 0.90% of travelers and Germany 0.80%, as does Chile. The remaining markets account for 9.10%.
In terms of air activity, Cancun International Airport recorded 1,506 arrivals, of which 658 were domestic Flights and 848 were international. Cozumel Airport reported 69 arrivals, with 48 domestic and 21 international. Tulum Airport “Felipe Carrillo Puerto” had 111 arrivals, of which 49 were domestic and 62 international. Meanwhile, Chetumal Airport recorded 33 arrivals, all of them domestic.
Regarding departures during the same period, Cancun Airport reported 1,488 Flights, with 646 domestic and 842 international. Cozumel had 69 departures, of which 48 were domestic and 21 international. Tulum Airport also recorded 111 departures, with the same distribution of 49 domestic and 62 international. Finally, Chetumal Airport recorded 33 departures, all domestic.
As reported by REPORTUR.mxthe destinations of the Mexican Caribbean that are grouped in Quintana Roo have been growing so far this year below those of the Dominican Republic, which thus demonstrates that they have overcome events such as Americans traveling more to Europe, or the supposed crises with airplane manufacturers, or even natural phenomena.
Those responsible for promoting tourism in Mexico’s largest destination have been blaming this slowdown on external factors such as Hurricane Beryl, sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the Copa America soccer tournament, crises with aircraft deliveries due to problems with manufacturers, and the fact that Americans increasingly prefer to Travel to Europe (CPTQ admits that Americans preferred to Travel to Europe).
However, the Dominican Republic, which was also affected by these external factors, did manage to maintain an 11% year-on-year growth in tourist arrivals between January and July, in contrast to Quintana Roo, which projected a 5.4% growth for the summer compared to the same season last year (QRoo is surpassed by the Dominican Republic in tourist growth this year).
As reported by REPORTUR.mxthe hoteliers of Quintana Roo, through the words of Jesús Almaguer, president of the Association of Hotels of Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres, or David Ortiz Mena, president of the Association of Hotels of Tulum, have already warned of the necessary improvements to get closer to the successes of their main rival (QRoo: hoteliers list reasons for low occupancy this summer).
David Ortiz Mena emphasized that “what is more important than blaming factors such as digital platforms, is to see how to improve the image of the destinations, find solutions to current challenges, and, especially, see how to recover institutional promotion by the federation” (Tulum: collapse of Hotel occupancy is due to lack of promotion).
Likewise, hoteliers in Cancun asked for another strategy to promote destinations in the northern part of the state, given the great disappointment they experienced with occupancy below 70% during the summer, which represented drops of up to 15 points (Criticism of the CPTQ: Cozumel or Holbox, far from entertainment).
