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Eleven More Cities In The US Have Direct Links To The Popular Beach Resort Town
American tourists continue to pour into Cancun and the rest of the Mexican Caribbean as the region shatters pre-pandemic figures. The growth is evident in the continued addition of direct routes from the US.
Cancun has always been popular in the United States, but its popularity is soaring in the post-pandemic world. Fears that the region may lose some of its momentum as Covid loosened its grip on the travel industry have proved to be unfounded, with the hotels and airlines that invested in the area over the past two years now reaping the benefits.
In fact, American interest in the Mexican Caribbean has increased so much that the Cancun International Airport is now directly linked to eleven more US cities than it was before the pandemic. Many of the airports that were already connected have added many more, making a trip to Cancun no more than a short connecting flight away for the majority of the United States.
As a whole, the state’s airports have increased their offerings by a massive 34% – one of the reasons that Cancun International is one of the busiest airports on the planet despite its comparatively smaller size.
The United States market already surpassed the Mexican domestic tourist demographic in 2021, making it far and away the most important group for the region. According to the director of the Quintana Roo tourism board, if Quintana Roo was a country in itself, it would be the third most visited on the entire American continent, highlighting the strength it has as.
The state has already seen a higher number of visitors for the first five months of the year, with over six million passengers traveling to Quintana Roo between January and May. A further three and a half million are expected over July and August, spreading across the state from the Riviera Maya to Playa del Carmen. All of the main spots are expected to beat 2019 numbers.
Even the popular spots of Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos on the west coast are trailing Cancun. Both of those locations are only a short flight from many of the United States’ biggest cities on the West Coast, yet many are choosing to take the longer flight across the country to enjoy the beaches of Cancun and Tulum.
Of course, the United States market is expected to remain the largest, but Cancun has made tremendous progress in pulling in Europeans from across the Atlantic. Spain and the United Kingdom, in particular, have seen strong growth.
The United Kingdom now has direct connections from airports in all corners of the country, meaning virtually every Brit now has a simple flight to Cancun less than an hour from their home. In the past, the vast majority of flights had to be routed through London and were only offered on limited days. The recent developments surrounding Brexit have been a big factor in pushing some of the British market away from Europe.
Spain, on the other hand, is the largest European market for Cancun. The success of this market is interesting, as the country boasts some of the best beach destinations on the planet like the Canary Islands, Ibiza, Malaga, and Benidorm. Yet, Spaniards are still making the long transatlantic flight to visit Cancun instead. Recent flights have already been added from Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia.
With summer expected to be so strong, and the following national holidays all the way until the busy Christmas period, it’s unlikely that Cancun’s popularity will let up. The world has been frustrated by the pandemic, and millions will be taking their first vacation in a long time this year.
Occupancy levels are going to be in the high eighties and nineties, so those hoping to visit the region this summer should get ahead and book before the ideal hotel is too full or prices rise further.
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