On Feb. 1, clocks in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo - home to Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum - will be set one hour ahead to the Southeastern Times Zone, the equivalent of the Eastern Standard Time.
For all intents and purposes, the change, which was approved by Mexico's Chamber of Deputies, puts Quintana Roo on Daylight Savings Time for the entire year. The move, according to tourism officials, is expected to enhance air connectivity, with Quintana Roo operating on the same time zone as many U.S. East Coast airports from which it derives a formidable amount of business. Furthermore, the state will also operate on the same time zone as the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
Not everyone, however, is seeing the glass as half full. "If being on the same time as the U.S. East Coast and most of the Caribbean will mean easier and tighter tourism connections, particularly with Cuba, then I welcome the change," said Ben Gritzewsky, senior independent travel advisor at Frosch, who is a resident of the neighboring state of Merida. "However, the change will likely complicate things for those of us in the industry actually based on the Yucatan Peninsula, who already struggle with the multiple time zones and schedules of the incoming markets. Currently, we are all on the same time with central Mexico, including Mexico City, the epicenter of government and the economy."
Also, Gritzewsky noted that the time change could further alienate travelers from the U.S. West Coast, which has long been grappling with a two-hour time difference.
Furthermore, there are driving issues to consider. "The drive between Merida and the Mayan Riviera, for example, will practically be one hour longer going east and an hour shorter going west," Gritzewsky said. "It's another factor to deal with when planning travel across the state lines, which is what many visitors do and I personally recommend, in order to enjoy some of the many wonderful inland attractions."
For her part, Judy Nidetz of Travel Experts said the impending change is wreaking havoc on airline schedules. "Every single flight for clients I have booked going into Cancun and Playa del Carmen has resulted in receiving many airline schedule changes and in some cases, cancellations," she said. "People are going to need to be vigilant with re-confirming flights into and out of the area for a while."
The time change also kills one of Nidetz's key selling points. "I'm in the Central Time in the Chicago area and it's been great being able to offer clients the chance to depart O'Hare early morning and arrive into Cancun early afternoon. In that regard, I was selling the opportunity to be at the beach for the afternoon."
But come February, Nidetz's clients will find themselves arriving at the destination one hour later, which, in effect cuts their first day short - even though the destination itself is benefiting from an extra hour of daylight. "They do get the time back on the last travel day, but people are usually ready to check out by noon and be on their way home - it's just a psychological thing."
In the end, Gritzewsky simply finds the change confounding. "Part of the justification is that there will be one more hour of daylight, so even though arrival may be an hour later than before, there will be one more hour of sun," he said. "So, technically, nothing really changes, except the actual time on the clock, which vacationers tend to disregard, anyway."
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