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Travelers looking for an international vacation getaway that’s affordable in the new year may want to set their sights on Cancun.
It was recently cited as the second most affordable international destination based on the average cost of round-trip airfare by the popular travel search engine Priceline.
An Affordable New Year Destination
Getting some sun in Cancun to celebrate January of next year is looking pretty affordable for travelers based upon a recent survey of round-trip airfare prices from all over the United States by Priceline.
According to their analysis, the average cost of round-trip airfare from the United States to Cancun is only $378 during the month. That’s just a bit more than the top city on the list, Nassau, Bahamas, coming in at $370.
The other Mexican destinations on the list included Los Cabos at $436 and Puerto Vallarta at $437.
The top five included Nassau, Bahamas; Cancun, Mexico; Medellin, Colombia; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and Bogota, Colombia.
Additional Flights Lowering Prices
There are many reasons why flights to Cancun are so affordable this winter.
The main reason is the number of flights the United States airlines bulked up on towards the end of the year in anticipation of strong demand for the destination from American travelers.
Delta has announced that it will restart service from Cincinnati (IATA: CVG) and Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina on December 16 (IATA: RDU).
Additionally, Southwest Airlines will start service from Orlando (IATA: MCO) and end service from Fort Lauderdale (IATA: FLL) in June.
Several of the airlines in the United States have announced additional services to the Cancun area once the Tulum International Airport opens for international arrivals in March of 2024.
Those airlines that will add routes to Tulum include American Airlines (Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami), Delta Airlines (Atlanta), Spirit Airlines (Fort Lauderdale and Orlando) and United Airlines (Chicago-O’Hare, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark and Los Angeles).
A third source of additional airline service was the recent reinstatement of the level one United States Department of Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration security level to Mexican airlines with additional flights coming soon.
All three factors have created a strong supply of demand for flights to Cancun and surrounding areas, putting downward pressure on prices as the supply appears to have outstripped the demand for flights to the region.
What Travelers Need to Know
Essentially, the conditions for travel prices to remain steady, or even get cheaper, for visitors to Cancun and the surrounding beach resort destinations are favorable for consumers.
Exactly how the impact of the several new flights to Tulum International Airport from United, Spirit, Delta, and American is unknown at this time.
Many assume that the added flights will put additional pressure on the supply of flights to the region and force even lower prices in Cancun.
After all, it is unlikely that Tulum will initially generate its own significant demand for flights but will take passengers who would have flown to Cancun and Cozumel instead.
The added competition should put downward price pressure on flights in airports in the entire region, except for the “newness” of the Tulum International Airport.
This is all good news for travelers looking to visit Cancun in January and the first few months of the year, especially once Tulum opens to international flights in March.
It will act to offset the potential price increase travelers can expect in resort and hotel rates in the area since the lower price of flights may generally attract more travelers and raise the prices of the fixed number of resorts, hotels, and vacation rental properties available across the entire Mexican Caribbean region.
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