“Yucatan has more rooms to fill but we still have many more tourists”

With only a few weeks left before the current government of the state of Yucatan, headed by Governor Mauricio Vila, finishes its work and a new one takes office, the current head of the Secretariat for Tourism Promotion of Yucatan (SEFOTUR), Michelle Fridman Hirsch, expressed her satisfaction with the achievements obtained and with what she considers a very positive balance of the current state government in terms of tourism. In an interview with REPORTUR.mx, Fridman revealed the main figures that support the work carried out by the office under his charge since he took office in 2018.

REPORTUR.mx: What would be the assessment of your administration in terms of tourist arrivals and growth of the sector during this administration?

Michelle Friedman: Our balance is very positive, we are talking about indicators that we will be closing or have had a 34% growth in visitor arrivals during the administration, we are talking about an 82.4% growth in economic impact, 30.3% more in Hotel establishments, specifically 22.6% more in rooms and even despite this substantial growth in rooms, we are still 1.4% above in Hotel occupancy, that is, there are more rooms to fill but we still have many more tourists; We are talking about the fact that the average number of nights spent has grown by almost 40%, we are seeing that the tourist establishments in Mérida have grown by 25% and in the state by 70%, our ecotourism services, speaking of diversification and decentralization, have grown by almost 200%, Hotel revenue by 220%, the number of passengers at the airport by 50%, so, in terms of indicators – which at the end of the day is what measures us – we are closing with an administration that seems to me, and I dare say, historic.

⁠MF: What is the balance of hotels built and private investment in tourism in the state of Yucatan?

During the administration, as I said before, we have seen a 22.6% growth in Hotel rooms, which does not include accommodation on Airbnb platforms, only hotels. This represents a 30.3% growth in Hotel establishments, and our Hotel occupancy has not fallen, it is still up, we are talking about 1.4% more than at the beginning of the administration. It is worth mentioning that this is in line with the fact that we have been fluctuating between third and fourth place in terms of attracting the largest amount of private tourist investment in the entire country, with almost 45 billion pesos.

A.: In which areas or segments has the largest volume of private tourism investment been received?

MF: As I said before, during the administration, Yucatan has received almost 45 billion pesos in private tourist investment; many very important hotels, restaurants, tourist establishments, tourist parks; investment has grown a lot in different areas, and very proudly, more than 50% has been distributed throughout the state, not only in Merida as the capital, and that makes us very happy; as I mentioned, today we are in fourth place nationally, we have been oscillating between third and fourth place nationally, in attracting private tourist investment, it is very important because it speaks of the confidence there is in Yucatan, for its security, for its infrastructure, which we have bet on so that more private investment arrives, and above all the tourist growth that the diversification and decentralization of the product have generated in Yucatan.

⁠R.: In terms of events, congresses and conventions tourism (MICE), what is the balance of this administration’s management in terms of growth of this segment in the state?

MF: The segment, or rather the Meetings industry, because it is not a segment, it is an entire industry due to its size, extremely important at a national level – we understand that it represents more than 1.5% of the contribution to the country’s global GDP – in Yucatan it is extremely important. In this administration, for example, we created an OCV (Convention and Visitors Bureau) that did not exist, an OCV that no longer only works to represent one venue, which was the International Congress Center, but now two venues: the International Congress Center with its convention district, and Siglo XXI with its exhibition district. But also all the haciendas and the different forums and venues that we have throughout the state, we are looking to attract and generate events such as congresses, exhibitions, incentives, meetings, but also sporting events, festivals, concerts, gastronomic events and many more. It is worth mentioning that the growth in the number of participants in meetings industry events has grown by 23.6% in recent years.

A.: What would be the balance of air connectivity in the state, that is, how many and which new routes, airlines, Flights?

MF: Connectivity is something we have worked on the most and what we have invested the most in this administration. A connected destination is a destination open to attracting more tourists from different markets, but not only to trigger tourism, but also social development because it connects Yucatecans with different parts of the world; and economic development because it also allows us trade and industrial exchange. In this administration, one of the greatest achievements is that we were able to bring for the first time in history an air hub, an operations center with Viva Aerobus, which is allowing three aircraft to stay overnight at the airport, with which many point-to-point routes have been opened between Mérida and Querétaro, Mérida and Puebla, Mérida and El Bajío, Tijuana, Villahermosa, Veracruz; also international ones such as Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, which we just announced, but we have also opened routes with other important airlines such as Atlanta, Oaxaca, Oakland, Guatemala, Cuba. In a very important way, our air routes have grown by 66.7% during this administration, our number of passengers has grown by 50%, we are investing heavily in air, sea and land connectivity.

⁠A.: What gives you the greatest satisfaction from your work at the head of the Tourism Secretariat?

MF: I have a lot of satisfaction, and obviously numbers are the scientific way of proving that satisfaction, but what really gives me the most satisfaction is that every time I visit a community in Yucatan, or visit a traditional kitchen, they tell me how tourism has transformed their lives. Visiting, for example, one of the Mayan villages, which is a program that we are promoting in this administration, and listening to a Mayan woman, a Mayan cook or artisan talk about how their life is changing, not only because they are receiving tourism from all over the world, but also because their families are reintegrating because their children or husbands are returning from looking for work outside the country or outside their town; and they are returning to work not only to be close to them, but to work with them, then we see how tourism is really changing the lives of artisans, farmers, businessmen, promoters, event organizers, in a way that today tourism in Yucatan is a priority within the GDP, we are talking about almost 12% contribution to the GDP and it is being taken seriously as a solid, self-sustaining industry, which has grown 222% in its revenue and is undoubtedly being set as a national example. (Cancun: hotels at 60% in reservations and they expect more at the last minute).