Mexican authorities are relying on inbound visitors from the U.S. and Canada to reactivate the country's tourism sector over the coming months, according to Mexico News Daily.
During a September 30 press conference, held jointly with Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell, Mexico's Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco noted that Canadian and U.S. vacationers typically account for 66.4 percent of all visitors to Mexico. Part of the appeal, especially during autumn and winter, being its year-round mild weather and proximity to its North American neighbors.
Citing that COVID-19 has changed the way people view travel, Torruco said that Mexico could become an even more desirable destination for U.S. and Canadian vacationers this year. He claimed that, as tourists now reevaluate their travel plans, they're opting for destinations that can be reached through a flight of no longer than four-and-a-half hours.
He noted that such popular tourism destinations as Cancún, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and San José del Cabo are easily accessible from 22 Canadian cities, including Ottawa, Quebec, Toronto, Winnipeg and Regina.
From the U.S., potential tourists have even more ways to fly into Mexico, with 37 routes available out of major cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco that take passengers to destinations like Cancún, Huatulco, Ixtapa, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta and Querétaro.
Americans may feel a little more confident planning a Mexican vacation since the U.S. State Department downgraded its Mexico Travel Advisory from a Level 4 to a Level 3 in mid-September.
Although Mexico's 2020 tourism numbers are currently down about 50 percent from last year, Torruco is hoping that things may change as North Americans, sick of being stuck indoors amid lockdowns and facing more months at home as cold weather sets in, look to escape to the sunny south.
"There could be a pretty interesting rally, especially as Canadians have their winter season from late October to mid-April," Torruco said. He indicated that, if Mexico were to move to the "yellow" level of the Ministry of Health's 'Traffic Light Monitoring System for Epidemiological Risk of COVID-19', hotel occupancy rates could reach as high as 42.8 percent. If, however, it remains at level "orange" through December, those predictions drop down to 32.9 percent occupancy.
Mexico welcomed 19.6 million international tourists in 2019, but current projections see that number falling to 6.8 million in 2020. Torruco pointed out that 86 percent of those tourists visit one of six destinations-Cancún, Mexico City, Playa del Carmen, Los Cabos, Nuevo Vallarta and Puerto Vallarta, listed in order of popularity.
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