Almost half of Mexican Caribbean hotels reopen, as flights resume

The Mexican Caribbean has begun to gradually reopen itself to tourists from June 8, and is on track to have 75% of hotel rooms ready by July 1, according to the Travel Market Report.

The region currently has about 45% of inventory reopened, according to a Quintana Roo Tourism Board virtual conference last week.

The Quintana Roo Tourism Board handles the marketing for 12 destinations under the umbrella of the Mexican Caribbean and the Grand Costa Maya, including Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Isla Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, and Costa Mujeres.

The region is using a “traffic light system,” said Dario Flota, Director of the Quintana Roo Tourism Board, featuring four stages: Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green.

Quintana Roo is mostly in orange phase, which means hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, transportation, and golf courses operate at 30% capacity. Beaches, nightlife and casinos, and conventions remain closed.

According to Flota, “these colours are reviewed every week,” and the region will transition to the Yellow phase in one to two weeks, increasing capacity to 60%. Once the final Green phase is approved, sectors can once again operate at 100%.

Air connectivity is beginning to recover. Southwest plans to relaunch flights to Cancun and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos July 1. United and American have already resumed daily flights to Mexico and Delta will restart daily flights from Atlanta to Cancun later this month. Canadian airlines scheduled to return in July, Flota said.

The Cancun and Cozumel International Airports have both imposed increased sanitization, instillation of protective screens, social distancing at all security checkpoints and gates, and thermal cameras for passengers. A travel risk factor questionnaire will be given to all arrivals and departures, says the Travel Market Report.

Cruise lines will also be steadily returning to the region, which welcomed over 7 million cruise passengers in 2019. Flota said since high-season for cruising is in the winter, from October to mid-April, when ports closed the season was thankfully already over.

Holland American plans to start visiting ports from July 1, followed by Disney Cruise Line on July 28 and MSC on July 31. Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and NCL have all planned for an August 1 return, and Viking and Carnival are slated for September 1.