Jorge Carrillo Sáenz, President of the Yucatán Tourism Business Council (Cetur), confirmed the low tourist turnout during this summer vacation period due to the lack of tourism promotion.
Carrillo Sáenz, President of the Yucatán Tourism Business Council (Cetur), confirmed the low tourist influx during this summer vacation period, mainly attributed to the absence of a promotional campaign directed towards national tourists traveling by road.
July, the first month of the 2023 summer vacation, was not very favorable for Yucatán’s hotel sector, as reported by the Diario. Instead of experiencing a significant increase, there was an overall decrease of 8.59% in hotel occupancy across the state, according to the Mexican Hotel Association of Yucatán.
When asked about this situation, Carrillo Sáenz confirmed that the hotel occupancy rate in July 2023 remained the same as the same month in 2022. In Mérida, there was a marginal 2% growth, and he confirmed that the general data reported a 6% to 7% decline in hotels located within the state’s interior.
Cetur’s President emphasized that the behavior of national tourists traveling by road is a tradition during every summer vacation period. Hence, there should have been a strong campaign to encourage them, but it was not executed. The promotion of tourist destinations and overnight stays in municipalities within the state should have been emphasized. Apart from this lack of tourism promotion, he mentioned that it’s worth revisiting something fundamental in order to have accurate tourism data for Yucatán.
He recalled that he has unsuccessfully requested official agencies related to the tourism industry to document the passenger flow arriving through Mérida’s airport and bus terminals servicing tourist destinations in Yucatán. This is necessary to have genuine tourism data.
Carrillo Sáenz remarked that the discussion often centers around what happens in hotels, yet tourism extends beyond this sector. The tourism industry is much broader than just hotel activities, and efforts should be focused on understanding the entire sector’s dynamics.
He stressed the importance of measurements to determine whether those traveling by road are tourists, whether they contribute economically through tours, transportation usage, tourist guide services, handicraft purchases, food consumption, and more. In essence, understanding the economic impact they bring to the state. He provided an example that if hotels have a 60% occupancy rate, for instance, around 30% of guests may have indeed utilized tourist services in the state, while the other 30% might have come for work or other reasons, not necessarily for leisure.
Furthermore, that 30% could even be lower, as it’s a reality that Yucatán’s industrial growth attracts a higher number of visitors, primarily for work purposes.
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