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Cancun flights are getting more expensive as demand for travel to the popular Mexican Caribbean destination skyrockets. Flights from the U.S. can cost as much as almost 24 percent more than what they did in 2021. Fuel prices are reportedly one of the many things that are contributing to these rises in cost but there is no doubt that increased demand plays a role as well.
Cancun, and much of the Mexican Caribbean coast, has hosted millions of travelers flying out of the United States in just the first four months of the year. Just during the Easter holiday alone, more than a million tourists visited Cancun in only one week, and even during the off-season hotels continue to maintain occupancy rates of approximately 70 percent or more. Reports also show that in the Cancun Hotel Zone hotels are around 90 percent booked already.
The flight prices are not the only thing Cancun tourists can expect to pay more for either. Hotel rates in Cancun and the Riviera Maya area are also going up. A recent report pointed out that visitors can expect to pay 48 percent more in comparison to 2019, meaning that a hotel room that cost $300 a night in 2019 would cost closer to $500 a night now.
Fuel prices are also on the rise, with increases coming close to 30 percent in some places. Not only does this increase the cost of airline flights but also things like taxis, which Cancun tourists are also paying more for now, and Ubers, Lyfts, buses, and other transportation options. Still despite all of these increases, the Mexican Caribbean coast is welcoming record numbers of tourists so far this year.
Despite the huge increase in fuel prices that has led to the rise in the cost of airline tickets and many other things, TSA (the Transportation Security Administration) data shows that as of February traffic from passengers in the U.S. was at 89 percent of what it was pre-pandemic. Furthermore, a Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows that airline ticket sales are at their highest ever. Still, even with the airlines selling so many tickets and getting back to pre-pandemic levels of sales they are passing the increase in fuel prices onto their customers.
This increase in the price of airline tickets has led many travelers to seek out lower-cost airlines to recoup some of the extra money they are spending. Some of the airlines that generally offer less expensive ticket prices for direct flights to Cancun include:
- AeroMexico
- AirTran
- American Airlines
- Delta
- Frontier
- JetBlue
- Spirit
- Sun Country
- United
- U.S. Airways
- Virgin America
It is important to note that some airlines offer lower price tickets from certain cities while flights from other places may be more expensive. The easiest way to find the lowest price is to try multiple airlines each time you search because prices can vary from one to the other considerably. Airline ticket prices also change often, sometimes even within the same day, so you never know when you’ll find the best price.
Nobody likes to see inflation lead to higher costs but in the travel industry, the increase in things like flights and hotels doesn’t seem to be deterring too many travelers. The tourist industry in Cancun and the rest of the Riviera Maya is currently booming with no end in sight, at least for the next few months, so those planning on visiting this Mexican Caribbean paradise should start planning early to get the best hotels, flights and, most importantly, price.
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