The Mexican Caribbean will not only have an advantage in connectivity, but also in hotel rates compared to the cities hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, presenting an opportunity to attract a significant portion of the fans, according to Carrie Wilder, senior director for Mexico at Expedia.
In her analysis, fans will want to attend the main World Cup matches without paying the high costs in the host cities. Expedia indicates that hotel room rates will increase between 300% and 1,000% during the World Cup in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
“So, we’re seeing good numbers for the year for the Mexican Caribbean. What we’ve done is build a landing page specifically for Mexico to handle all the traffic from people looking for the matches, but who can also choose other destinations within Mexico at lower prices. We believe that will give a lot of visibility to other cities and encourage people to say, ‘I’ll stay longer and go to another destination,’” Wilder said.
He added that Cancun and the Riviera Maya have the advantage of hosting two national teams for their training camps, which reinforces the appeal for fans to decide to visit the Mexican Caribbean before or during the World Cup.
However, he pointed out that Mexico, and Cancun in particular, faces challenges such as immigration and customs. “These are the most frequent bottlenecks during tourist arrivals through the airports,” he stated. He mentioned that the existing infrastructure needs to be updated, along with staff training and improvements in baggage handling logistics “to ensure that we can meet the standards of a world-class event like the World Cup.” World.”
Among his projections, he stated that Mexico will maintain 6% growth during 2026, but at moderate rates despite the World Cup.
The promotional campaigns for the Mexican Caribbean in anticipation of the World Cup were ready to be presented at the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) in early January, as announced at the time by Bernardo Cueto Riestra, Secretary of Tourism for Quintana Roo (Sedetur).
Source: reportur
