The coast, Mérida, Valladolid, and Izamal are the key destinations on which the state tourism sector is basing its expectations for visitors arriving in Yucatán this summer.
The head of the State Tourism Development Secretariat (Sefotur), Darío Flota Ocampo, explained that although the economic environment is challenging, July could be a good month for hotel occupancy in the aforementioned cities, where they expect increases of up to 60 percent.
He noted that the World Cup will initially reduce the number of domestic visitors to the state somewhat. “It’s keeping a lot of people glued to the television, and they may postpone their trips,” he said.
“There are high expectations. The tourism sector is waiting for summer to improve the occupancy rates seen in recent weeks,” Flota Ocampo reiterated.
According to the monthly tourism activity report for April, coordinated by Sefotur (the State Tourism Secretariat), the state received 892,944 visitors, representing a 1.8 percentage point decrease compared to the 908,662 tourists who arrived during the same period in 2015. The difference between the two periods was 15,668 travelers.
The interviewee emphasized the positive outlook for this summer, especially due to the arrival of domestic tourists, particularly from Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Tabasco.
The Mérida International Airport is an example of a favorable season. “Flights continue to be full; it is the only airport in the entire ASUR Group that reported an increase in arrivals. All the others, including Cancún, experienced a decrease in routes. We haven’t reduced our routes; the Tijuana route began in June. So we expect the air travel sector to perform well,” he commented.
The Yucatán coast is also expected to see an increase in hotel occupancy during the summer. “El Cuyo, Las Coloradas, Río Lagartos, San Felipe, Telchac Puerto, Progreso, Sisal, and Celestún—the entire coast is of interest to domestic tourists, and consequently, road tourism will increase,” he noted.
On social media, beach house rentals are practically booked solid for this holiday season, and people are already requesting dates in September and even for December, which will be the next school break.
Source: sipse
