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If you visited the Mexican Caribbean many years ago, the picture that you remember will be a far cry from what the stunning location has become in recent years.
What was once a backpackers’ paradise, with uninterrupted landscapes, peaceful towns, and unique accommodations, has been completely transformed with luxury investment, causing five-star hotel openings to be in never-ending abundance and more and more infrastructure being announced almost every other week.
This is having a tremendous impact on the area, as it has broken all records this summer with one of the busiest vacation periods ever.
As the Mexican Caribbean gears itself up for yet another hugely busy winter season, it is clear that the government and hoteliers/business owners are keen to keep up with demand and offer something to tourists a little more on the luxurious side.
Post Pandemic
Luxury resorts and accommodations certainly outperformed other categories during and immediately after the pandemic, with many tourists ‘revenge’ booking for their lost vacation time due to being locked down in their homes.
Travelers began looking for more remote and secluded destinations that offered great value for money, such as all-inclusive hotels that cover all food and drink costs in their pricing, as well as private entrances to beaches, private clubs and spas, and so on.
This has also become a popular choice for travelers who are looking for guaranteed safety and security, with many luxury hotels and resorts having around-the-clock surveillance and protection and are rarely situated in any area that is “off the beaten path”.
Hotel giants such as Hyatt and Hilton have responded quickly to tourists’ needs and announced new openings and renovated accommodations all over the Mexican Caribbean, each seemingly outdoing the last when it comes to the spectacular offerings it has for its visitors.
Development Of Magical Towns
Luxury tourist development is reaching farther than just the tourist hotspot of Cancun, as many of the Mexican Caribbean’s once unknown, traditional towns are becoming affluent, hugely popular areas for tourists to travel to under the ‘Pueblos Magicos’, or Magical Town program.
While they remain a far more affordably priced option for many visitors, private vacation rentals and luxury boutique hotels/villas are also popping up left, right, and center.
The highly coveted ‘Magical Town’ badge of approval is given to any town that is of historical, cultural, or environmental significance and has been successful in boosting local economies and bringing prosperity to locals who live there.
While places such as Cancun show no sign of stopping when it comes to hotel infrastructure being built in any space it can, Magical Towns such as Valladolid and Bacallar are able to paint a picture of a more traditional Mexico and preserve that feeling for tourists.
More Connectivity
Many of these untouched areas in the Mexican Caribbean remained so due to the lack of good transportation to them, often only reachable by private car hire or not-so-reliable bus services.
The government then saw an opportunity to connect more visitors to all the stunning region by building two huge infrastructure investments: the new Maya train and the new Tulum International Airport, ‘Felipe Carrillo Puerto International.’
As more and more passengers flock to the destination (it being one of the most popular areas among American tourists) during their vacation time, the need for more accommodation choices grows.
Tulum airport is expected to welcome 5.5 million passengers annually and is already hotting up to become the second busiest airport in the Mexican Caribbean, next to Cancun International Airport.
Tulum could have once been seen as a popular alternative to tourists looking for better value for money. However, it seems as though it is already gearing up for an explosion in popularity due to the new airport, and with that, it will bring a surge of new investment in luxury hotel infrastructure and projects.
The Future
According to a report from CoStar, a global provider of real estate data, analytics, and news, Mexico already has a total of 191 hotels and resorts planned for opening in the coming months.
25 percent of these are confirmed to be luxury accommodations for tourists, showing that the popularity and want for them is certainly there.
It seems that no matter where you want to go, whether it be the ever-popular Cancun, the upcoming eco-city of Tulum, or perhaps a less well-known area such as the magical towns of Valladolid or Bacalar, luxury seems to be showing up everywhere, and it looks as though it is here to stay.
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