Yucatan Poises for Tourism Reopening By Maintaining Strong Ties With Cruise Lines

Image: PHOTO: The port of Progreso's Malecon. (photo via State of Yucatan) (Secretaría de Fomento Turístico Estatal (SEFOTUR))
Image: PHOTO: The port of Progreso's Malecon. (photo via State of Yucatan) (Secretaría de Fomento Turístico Estatal (SEFOTUR))
Claudette Covey
by Claudette Covey
Last updated: 12:05 AM ET, Thu May 28, 2020

As Mexico begins the process of reopening its tourism industry, the state of Yucatan is continuing its ongoing efforts to maintain strong ties with the cruise industry and the lines that call at its port, according to Michelle Fridman, the state's tourism minister.

As part of Yucatan's COVID-19 recovery strategy, tourism officials have been regularly communicating with North American and Caribbean cruise lines, port authorities and tour operators through the Yucatan Cruise Newsletter.

The newsletter includes information on activities, statistics and projections relating to the cruise industry in Yucatan.

From 2015 to 2019, the port of Progreso welcomed 30 new cruise ships, bolstering its annual volume of cruise passengers by 47.8 percent. The passenger arrival number grew from 318,234 in 2015 to 470,418 in 2019.

Progreso is also continuing with its Puerto Progreso project, which includes new port exhibition areas, a restaurant and a beach club scheduled to open by the end of 2020. Additionally, it also recently added a new Malecon. Progreso has invested $2.4 million in urban improvements to enhance the visitor experience.

The state's Progreso port ranks sixth among Mexican ports in terms of the number of cruise passenger arrivals.

In other developments, local tourism companies are continuing to enhance their offerings with new cultural experiences in Progreso and smaller destinations nearby.

Progreso is located 30 minutes north of the state capital of Merida, the largest on the Yucatan Peninsula.


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