From August to October, hotel occupancy has remained low in the Mexican Caribbean, especially in destinations such as Tulum, Cancún, and Cozumel. According to figures from the Quintana Roo Tourism Secretariat (Sedetur), average occupancy in the region dropped from 68.8% in the first week of August to 51.6% in October.
Tulum has been the most critical case, dropping from 63% in August to 48% in October. In Cancún, it fell from 75.7% to 54.3%; Cozumel, from 70.8% to 56.2%. Likewise, Isla Mujeres fell from 79.6% to 50.3%; and Costa Mujeres, from 82.2% to 74.3%.
Likewise, in Puerto Morelos, occupancy fell from 72.6% to 57.5%, while in the Riviera Maya, it fell from 70.8% to 60.6%. Meanwhile, Costa Maya recorded the sharpest drop: from 59.8% to 32.5%, according to La Verdad Noticias.
Quintana Roo’s Secretary of Tourism, Bernardo Cueto, noted that this indicator should not be taken as the most reliable indicator due to the accelerated growth of hotel infrastructure. “As never before, tourism investment and the increase in hotel supply imply a readjustment of occupancy,” he said.
Francisco Madrid, director of the Center for Advanced Research in Sustainable Tourism (STARC), recently outlined the five factors he believes have led the destination to the crisis. (Tulum: the crisis is due to abusive prices, beaches, and infrastructure.)
The first factor has to do with infrastructure, both urban services and the tourism offering. “We are facing a case of a chronicle foretold, of a tourist destination with problems. First of all, we must mention a very significant gap in urban services, in infrastructure for the population, and the tourism offering itself,” Madrid commented.
Source: reportur
