Cancun Anticipating Extra Spring Break Vacationers, Nonetheless Beneath Pre-Pandemic Totals

Officers in Cancun predict that whereas the variety of vacationers visiting Cancun will rise for spring break, the numbers will most probably not meet or exceed pre-pandemic customer ranges.

In line with Riviera Maya Information, over 530 flights had been reported by the Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) on Friday, February 18, a rise in forty flights from the day earlier than.

Whereas the variety of flights are rising, Jesús Almaguer Salazar, the President of the Cancun, Puerto Morelos & Isla Mujeres Resort Affiliation says they’re anticipating lower than the pre-pandemic ranges of spring break vacationers this 12 months. His estimate is about 20,000.

“Sadly instances should not like earlier than once we would attain 90 or 100,000 vacationers throughout that season. The lodges are attempting to optimize the circulation of vacationers to have higher occupancy charges,” mentioned Almaguer Salazar, citing the pandemic as a essential issue within the drop in spring break vacationers, a lot of whom are from youthful generations.

Relying on the standing of the pandemic in the US and in Quintana Roo, Cancun’s state, that quantity may be increased or decrease.

However one other issue may be of larger concern to vacationers pondering of heading all the way down to Cancun this spring break: security. After a number of drug cartel-related shootouts on common Cancun seashores, vacationers are extra involved concerning the security within the area than ever earlier than.

On January 31, the US Embassy in Mexico issued a particular advisory for American vacationers after the deadly shootings of two Canadians and a bartender the week earlier than; not the primary incidents of vacationers being caught within the cross-hairs of gang-related violence within the space, which has been taking place intermittently since October 2021.

In response, uniformed guardsmen as a part of the Vacationer Safety Battalion started rising their patrols and their presence alongside the Resort Zone’s beachfront on February 7. On February 14, the Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador introduced that the Ministry of Nationwide Protection and SEMAR, the nation’s naval group, could be taking up safety operations in seven main airports within the space to scale back corruption and hasten the customs course of.

It’s unclear if the brand new safety will convey concerning the increase in confidence wanted to advertise spring break tourism amongst American vacationers, however this, together with the COVID-19 pandemic, are going to be the most important components resulting in much less spring breakers this 12 months.