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Things are certainly looking up for Cancun hotels particularly with the upcoming Easter break. This year’s official Easter vacation week in Mexico is going to run from Sunday, April 10, to the 17th. With many tourists having the possibility to arrive since Friday, April 8. Cancun hotels are already reporting that on average, the city’s hotel occupancy sits at 80% for that particular week. The president of the Hotels’ association of Cancun, Jesús Almaguer, anticipates that number to rise in the coming weeks as the date draws closer. Projecting that the city will boast around 85 to 87% hotel occupancy for that week.
Why Hotels May Not Reach 100% Occupancy
To many people in the industry Jesus Almaguer’s numbers seem rather conservative. There’s a good reason, though, why the Hotels’ association is throwing out conservative numbers. That is to comply with the area’s COVID guidelines. In a sense, the area’s hotel occupancy is expected to reach nearly 100% of the rooms that are going to be allowed to be filled. President Jesus Almaguer clarified his expectations in a recent statement saying,
We will be full, according to the protocol, some hotels will be literally full, while others already anticipate an 80% occupancy rate according to their books. Which, is a great indicator
Almaguer also mentioned that Cancun hotels expect that these levels of hotel occupancy will be mostly filled by the national tourism industry. As was mentioned earlier, the official Easter vacations in Mexico run from April 10th to the 17th. Which coincides with the Catholic Church’s “Holy Week”. International guests are expected to arrive potentially on other dates as Easter breaks vary, particularly in US school districts.
International Tourism To Cancun Still Being Affected By COVID Protocols
Although the news coming from the hotel industry regarding its peak season is mostly positive, there has been some concern raised when it comes to international tourism. Currently, the ever-changing COVID protocols around the world saw the Cancun International Airport fall into a bit of a slump. When the total number of flights to, and from the Airport were unable to break the 500 per day mark for consecutive days last week. For comparison the record number of total flights for a two-day period this year sits at 1,246 flights. That record was set in the first two days of the year.
The US market still makes up the bulk of international flights arriving at the Cancun airport. With cities like Atlanta, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Dallas providing most of the flights to the region. Local authorities are hopeful that international COVID protocols will be less strict on travel. This may see hotel occupancy in Cancun reach no vacancy levels this Spring.
At this point though, local hotels are comfortable with their conservative numbers. With President Almaguer even saying that hotels are going to be able to build up a good “economic cushion” through this peak season. To help them deal with any potential negative impacts particularly from COVID related issues the rest of the year.
Hopeful About Sargassum Levels For The Spring Months
Another one of the main concerns to the Cancun tourism industry continues to be Sargassum (seaweed levels). President Jesus Almaguer was hopeful that Cancun beaches may be able to keep Sargasso levels to a minimum during the upcoming peak season. He explained that Isla Mujeres was a key natural barrier to prevent Cancun beach fronts from getting filled with the foul smelling seaweed. Almaguer mentioned,
The arrival (of Sargassum) doesn’t hit Cancun directly, we fortunately have a great natural barrier which is Isla Mujeres. When it comes in from the south of the Island, though, we stand to be affected
Even though hopes may be high, Sargassum removal efforts will likely continue in Cancun beaches.
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