Long lines particularly at immigration at the Cancun airport seem to be a thing of the past. At the end of April it was announced that digital kiosks were going to be finally set in motion to be able to allow tourists to enter the country in a more efficient manner. With the announcement though, what was left up in the air was whether or not the same amount of immigration officers would remain on duty at the Cancun airport.
The commissioner of the National Institute of Immigration, Francisco Garduño Yáñez cleared up a couple of the doubts that had emerged in recent days, while also giving out official data on the number of tourists that passed through immigration in Cancun over the peak season.
The Number of Immigration Agents At the Cancun Airport Is Set To Remain The Same
Francisco Garduño Yañez pointed out that there are currently 321 immigration agents working at the Cancun airport. There will also be 115 modules where these agents also tend to tourists that are arriving in the beach city. In spite of the fact that a new law allows for the digitalization of the immigration process, there was no indication that the number of agents at the Cancun airport would be reduced.
Part of the reason why the number of agents is set to remain the same may have to do with a lack of framework set in place for the digital immigration process. Garduño Yañez defended the work that immigration officers have been performing at the Cancun airport. Calling their attention fast and efficiently while also adding that immigration agents treat visitors with quality and warmth while respecting the human rights of each individual that they encounter.
The commissioner of the national institute of immigration held meetings with representatives from the consulates of different countries as well as local authorities and businessmen in the tourism industry. Although the meetings have yet to produce a clear framework particularly in the use of technology to further facilitate the immigration process it’s expected that these new digital immigration rules are being discussed across these meetings. For now it seems both the public and private sectors are ok with the number of immigration officers, and their efforts at the Cancun Airport.
Just How Many People Have Passed Through Immigration In Cancun This Year?
At the beginning of the year there was quite an issue with the amount of time that tourists were spending in line at immigration. This prompted Mexican immigration services to increase the number of officers at the Cancun Airport. Just how many people have passed through immigration in this first third of the year?
According to Garduño Yañez up until April 27th immigration officers had seen 3 million 254 thousand 281 people who arrived in Cancun through 7 thousand and 95 flights. Most of the international travelers that arrived here came from the US, Canada, Colombia, the UK and France. In fact, some of these international destinations sent about as many foreign nationals to the region as the amount of Mexican tourists that arrived to the region via the airport.
Cancun Is Without A Doubt The Most Important Mexican Destination To Date
Other stats that Garduño Yañez revealed in his presser included the fact that over 40% of the foregin nationals that enter the country by airplane land directly in Cancun. That’s by far the Mexican city with the most international tourists arriving.
In fact, the Mexico City airport that used to lead this stat in years past only took in around 25% of the total international tourists that flew into Mexico. It’s not just by airplane that people are reaching Cancun. The region also received over 80% of the total foreign nationals that arrived in Mexico by sea.
Plan Your Next Cancun Vacation:
Traveler Alert: Don’t Forget Travel Insurance For Your Next Trip!
Choose From Thousands of Cancun and Riviera Maya Hotels, Resorts and Hostels with Free Cancellation On Most Properties
↓ Join the community ↓
The Cancun Sun Community FB group has all the latest travel news, conversations and tourism Q&A’s for the Mexican Caribbean
Subscribe to our Latest Posts
Enter your email address to subscribe to The Cancun Sun’s latest breaking news affecting travelers, straight to your inbox.
Salvaje
Wednesday 4th of May 2022
Cancun's airport immigration and customs is different each time I arrive. As a permanent resident some times I can go through the Mexican line and some times I am turned away and when I travel with a companion its even worse that they may split us up. Sometimes customs makes me pay for items that are on the list as legal to bring in like fishing rods and reels, other times no issues. That bit about $500 worth of items are legal has no bearing to these officers. I have had them go through every piece of luggage, laying out every piece of clothing then telling me to repack it all when they find nothing of interest. Thank god I only go through a couple times a year but inconsistent is the way it is run and I never know if it will take 2 hours or 15 minutes.