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If you have been putting off booking your fall or winter vacation getaway to Cancun, you’re in luck.
While normally it is not recommended to wait to make travel reservations, the Confederation of Tourism Organizations in Latin America is reporting that reservations in the Mexican Caribbean are soft right now, which could provide deal opportunities for travelers who waited to book.
Soft Demand into Fall and Winter
Eduardo Paniagua Morales, president of the Confederation of Tourism Organizations in Latin America, recently reported that the members of the Confederation have stepped up their promotional activity for fall and winter in response to slow demand for reservations.
They are focusing their outreach tourism promotion initially on digital platforms.
Paniagua Morales further stressed that he thought the reservation demand would pick up sometime in October as the holiday season comes more into traveler’s minds.
Ultimately, they are expecting to close the year with the same number of seasonal travelers as last year.
Headwinds for Travel
Paniagua Morales admitted that there were a number of headwinds travelers are facing right now in making reservations for the Cancun area later in the year.
He cited the value of the peso against the dollar and the slowing economic conditions in the United States as headwinds for travel bookings in Cancun for the fall and winter seasons.
The Center for Tourism Research and Competitiveness confirmed the travel headwinds saying that the North American market fell 8.5 percent in July compared to the year ago travel numbers.
Increased Competition Affecting Travel
The Center for Tourism Research and Competitiveness report also cited the increased competition among tourism markets as a reason for the currently soft occupancy levels in Cancun for the fall and winter period.
Several different destinations have increased their promotional activity recently focusing on filling resort and hotel rooms for the popular travel season.
While many destinations are actively promoting sun, sand and surf for the winter season in North America, other locations are focused on other travel trends to diversify their traveler base.
For example, similar beach resort destinations are focusing their traveler outreach efforts on the emerging visitor trends of nature, wellness and adventure which accelerated travel after the pandemic.
Mexican Magical Towns
The other key factor many Mexican travel destinations are actively promoting to attract fall and winter travel customers is the magical towns around the destination.
Cancun and the Riviera Maya have a lot of value to provide here to tourists. There are four magical towns in the Mexican Caribbean area – Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Bacalar, and Tulum.
In total, Mexico has designed 177 magical towns around the entire country.
Travelers Should Book Now
With deals available for the fall and winter travel seasons due to the soft levels of resort and hotel occupancy in the Mexican Caribbean, those planning a vacation getaway should book now.
Travelers can lock in a deal for their preferred hotel property while the prices are still reasonable for the peak travel season.
It might be a good idea to reserve a cancellable room in the event that the prices still decline further as the month ends. If the price drops, the room can be rebooked at a lower price.
Budget travelers may also consider reserving their flights for the travel season as well.
If a traveler thinks fares can still drop, especially with the added flight capacity coming online as the Tulum International Airport opens in December, it would be a good idea to set up a tracked flight price watch at popular travel websites such as Google Flights.
The key is that travelers are getting quite a break right now due to the soft occupancy levels into the last couple of months of the year.
For those of you who have been procrastinating making your year-end Mexican Caribbean reservations, let this be your lucky wake-up call!
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Paul, From London
Friday 15th of September 2023
I've been 5 times to Mexico and are going for my sixth time I October 23. It's not just americans going to Mexico, many English and European people travel to Mexico, with a flight time of between 10-13 hours. We also spend a lot of money so don't just think it's the americans who go there