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Cancun, Riviera Maya ends tourist season exceeding pre-pandemic figures

Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Tourism in the state has seen a substantial amount of reactivation with more than 500 daily flights in and out of the Cancun International Aiport and an average hotel occupancy rate of 62 percent.

Governor Carlos Joaquin also reports more than 80.5 million tourists in the state during his four-year term as governor, making the Mexican Caribbean a highly sought-after global destination.

The new figures were released at the end of the 2021 summer holiday season while remembering figures during the start of the pandemic.

“The covid-19 pandemic hit us hard because at the worst time, flights fell to just 14 a day and hotel occupancy rates plummeted to four percent,” he recalled.

After the global confinement stage and the implementation of the “Together Let’s Reactivate Quintana Roo” plan, actions were taken that today, reflect the 500 daily flights and 62 percent hotel occupancy rates for the north and 30 percent for the south.

Joaquin adds that due to the implemented health prevention measures, data from the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council (CPTQ) and the National Migration Institute (INM) show a 38 percent increase in U.S. tourists in July 2021 over July of 2019.

The CPTQ announced that since the reopening of tourism in July of 2020 until the end of July 2021, Quintana Roo has received 9.3 million visitors, of which 4.4 million were national. Approximately 70 percent of the 4.9 million international tourists received over the last 12 month have been American.

Alicia Ricalde Magaña, head of the Port Administration, reported up to 11,000 daily passengers at the Cozumel-Playa del Carmen ferry terminal this summer. Several major US airlines also reported breaking all-time highs in Mexico travelers, exceeding pre-pandemic levels in July with 19 percent more passengers.