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Nature is a popular travel trend this year as the post-pandemic vacation recovery continues to drive demand.
This trend is evident in Cancun where an amazing 25 percent, or one in four travelers to the beach resort destination, is seeking to create a connection with nature on their vacation adventure to Cancun and the Riviera Maya.
Green Travel Trend
The focus on nature and the environment is very popular with the younger generation of visitors.
Gen Z travelers seek to focus on more green-style travel opportunities that provide the opportunity to make connections with nature.
However, this nature focus travel trend is not limited to Gen Z. Many towns in Mexico, including Los Cabos, have made the connection between this trend, sustainability, and the very preferred luxury travel segment.
This segment has been in strong demand by towns in Mexico seeking to shed their party image and instead put the focus on developing travel relationships with visitors that stay longer, prefer deluxe amenities, and tend to spend more money than the regular leisure traveler.
Cancun The Natural Paradise
There are few places in Mexico that represent the nature travel trend more than Cancun.
There are so many nature-related travel adventures and amenities in and around Cancun to keep the green-seeking traveler busy for weeks.
Cenotes
The Cancun area is one of the largest underground rivers in the entire world. This river has carved out amazing caves full of stalactites for visitors to explore and enjoy.
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Where the walls of the river have collapsed, a unique geologic feature called cenotes have been created.
Essentially these are places where the ground has collapsed down and created an underground pool where tourists to Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula can enjoy a swim and adventure at the very same time.
Cenotes are a very popular nature attraction for visitors to Cancun and the entire Riviera Maya area.
Garrafon Natural Reef Park
Just off the coast of Cancun, near the island of Isla Mujeres, is the amazing underwater nature world of the Garrafon Natural Reef Park.
Visitors to the park enter a world of natural coral reefs teeming full of sea life. Everywhere swimmers and snorkelers turn, there are reef sharks, multicolored fish, and even some surprising creatures, such as the whale shark.
It’s a fascinating underwater adventure that transports nature lovers to a whole new world of opportunity.
Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve
Travelers preferring an adventure outside the water should select a nature adventure day trip to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve located just south of Cancun in Tulum.
This UNESCO World Heritage site is a bird lovers’ dream, with 1.5 million acres of land and water to be explored by kayak or even a motorized canoe.
Nature lovers can enjoy the wide variety of species of water birds that frequent the reserve, such as Herons and Ospreys.
Meanwhile, those attracted more to history may want to check out the many Mayan ruins at the reserve instead.
Nature Theme Parks
For those looking for a more theme park-style nature interaction, the area south of Cancun features two opportunities – Xel-ha and Xcaret.
Travelers to these theme adventure parks can visit an aquarium full of colorful tropical fish, see butterflies take flight, or even have an opportunity to swim with dolphins.
Experiencing the Natural Cancun
With an overabundance of travel and adventure options for visitors seeking nature experiences, it’s easy to see why Cancun is such a popular vacation destination for these types of travelers.
It adds another layer to what is driving demand for what is becoming one of the most popular travel destinations in the country.
As the Gen Z traveler continues to advance in their career and enter their prime spending years, the trend bodes well to provide nature travel opportunities to these visitors in Cancun.
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