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In an effort to recover some of their losses after the pandemic, many Cancun hotels offered deals to travelers this past year, but hotel rates are expected to rise this winter. Today, Cancun is one of the most popular places to visit in the world, and that is not likely to change just because of a slight increase in prices. According to industry experts, the unbelievable growth in the popularity of the Mexican Caribbean vacation destination has resulted in a 25 percent recovery in rates from the pandemic losses.
They say, though, that more needs to be done to recover those losses, as well as what has been lost through providing promotions to tourists. The president of the Association of Hotels of Cancun, Puerto Morelos, and Isla Mujeres, Jesús Almaguer Salazar, commented on his hope that the rates can continue to increase. He stated that “they hope to continue on the rise, especially at the end of the year, and recover the profits they sacrificed after having to give promotions to attract visitors.”
This increase in rates will not be without benefit to the tourists who visit Cancun, though. Industry leaders know that in order to continue the trend of being one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world, the quality of service must always be improving too. This will allow them to continue to increase hotel prices gradually, to reach levels that will be competitive in the industry but still provide more funds for hotels to put back into their properties.
Cancun has had millions of visitors this year and is expecting to continue to get visitors in high numbers over the remainder of the year. The city is so popular among foreign travelers that approximately 50 percent of all foreign tourists who visit Mexico choose Cancun as their destination. The majority of these foreign visitors come from the United States, but the city caters to many Canadian and European visitors as well.
Now, with new immigration procedures at Cancun International Airport, it is even easier for foreign travelers to visit Cancun. Not only was the tedious immigration paperwork and the requirement to carry around a tourist card an unnecessary hassle, but it often resulted in long wait times at the airport. In addition, the new law also allows foreign tourists to stay in Cancun longer, granting visitors an automatic six-month stay upon arrival.
Hotel leaders have reported that hotel rates have dropped as much as 40 percent due to promotions such as the “Come2Cancun” promotion and others designed to attract visitors. While such promotions did attract a lot of tourists, the lower rates are just not sustainable to draw the income needed to operate. At least not if the tourism sector is to continue providing the exceptional level of service foreign travelers have come to expect when visiting Cancun.
Even during this slower season, Cancun hotels remain above a 60 percent occupancy rate, and the season will get busier over the next few months. In fact, by February of next year, 50,000 more flights will have arrived and departed from Cancun area airports. This equates to nearly 9 million airline passengers that will be traveling to the area.
The next meeting for industry leaders, called “Travel Mart,” is coming up quickly. The privately organized meeting will be held on October 16th. It is during this time that the discussions and negotiations regarding hotel rate increases will proceed, and then we’ll have a better idea as to what kind of increase travelers will be looking at.
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