The Governor announced 4 new international flights that will connect Merida with Orlando, Miami, Atlanta and one more to be defined in the coming months, as a result of the promotion of Yucatan.
In this context, Vila Dosal cut the inaugural ribbon for the new Merida – Puebla flight, which began operations this afternoon with 3 flights a week.
Merida, Yucatan, October 2, 2023.- Yucatan continues to increase its air connectivity as Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal announced new international flights that will connect Merida with the cities of Orlando and Miami in the United States, which will attract more tourism and economic revenue to the state, as a result of his efforts and the promotion of Yucatan in other parts of the world.
In the framework of the start of operations of the new Merida-Puebla route, Vila Dosal also announced that “another international flight of the airline Viva Aerobus will soon start operating with a destination that will be announced soon and we have achieved with Delta Airlines to have a new Merida-Atlanta route that will start soon and adds to continue connecting Yucatan with the world,” said the Governor.
Also, starting December 16, another Viva Aerobus flight will begin operations with the Merida to Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) route with a daily flight frequency.
From Merida International Airport, Alejandra Ochoa Martinez, Director of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs of Viva Aerobus, explained that the new international routes correspond to the airline Viva Aerobus with the Merida – Orlando and Merida – Miami routes that will begin operations in July of next year, operating with 3 and 4 frequencies per week, respectively; plus one more international destination to be defined in the coming months.
When explaining the new routes, Ochoa Martinez detailed that the Merida-AIFA route will cost from 169 pesos plus the Airport Use Fee (TUA) for a single flight; the Merida-Orlando and Merida-Miami routes will cost a little over 1,500 pesos plus TUA. Tickets are already on sale.
Accompanied by ASUR’s Director of Regional Airports, Héctor Navarrete Muñoz, the Governor cut the inaugural ribbon on the new Merida – Puebla route of Viva Aerobus, which began operations this afternoon and will have a frequency of three flights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with the capacity to transport 220 passengers on each flight and with a duration of two hours.
In his turn, ASUR’s Director of Regional Airports, Héctor Navarrete Muñoz, pointed out that, thanks to the Governor’s good and successful promotion of the state, historical figures have been obtained in the state, since at the end of August a total of 2 million 435 thousand 612 passengers were registered, which is 28% above the accumulated figures from January to August 2022, a growth that is a quarter more than the previous year.
“This is the success that this government has had and we have to recognize it, we broke records and just as the first 8 months of the year have been the best months in history, in destinations, this month will be the best month of all months, we have never had so many destinations, today we have an offer of 12 national and 8 international,” said Navarrete Muñoz.
In his message, the Governor recalled that in August of last year, he announced the establishment of a new operational base (air hub) of the airline Viva Aerobus at the Merida International Airport, bringing benefits to the state by increasing its air connectivity and the generation of 600 jobs, both direct and indirect.
With Yucatan becoming the sixth operating base in Mexico for Viva Aerobus, new routes have been added to destinations such as Queretaro, Leon, Toluca, Camaguey and Santa Clara, the latter two in Cuba, joining the list of Mexico City (AICM), Guadalajara, Havana, Monterrey, Queretaro, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Veracruz and Villahermosa. In this way, Viva Aerobus has consolidated its position as the airline with the broadest offer with a total of 16 routes so far.
“In this way, tourism continues to grow in Yucatan and this year will surpass 2022, which is very good for economic spillover and so we have positioned ourselves, as the Archaeological Zone of Chichen Itza is already the most visited in the whole country, also, Uxmal and Ek-Balam are already among the 10 most visited archaeological zones in the whole country,” said the Governor.
After thanking the Mayor of Merida, Renan Barrera Concha, for the coordination, Vila Dosal indicated that important works were carried out such as the remodeling of the International Boardwalk in Progreso, the boardwalks of Rio Lagartos and Dzilam de Bravo, the main avenue of Celestun and also the remodeling of the tourist stop where the flamingos go and nest, generating better infrastructure conditions in the state.
“We have gone from having 2 to 6 Magical Towns with the naming of Maní, Espita, Motul and Tekax, which today help us to generate revenue and undoubtedly more promotion of our state and more interest in visiting other areas of the state,” said the Governor.
Among the state’s promotional efforts, Vila Dosal also mentioned the Yucatán Expone strategy, which has taken Yucatecan artisan products to different parts of the country, such as Mexico City’s Zócalo, Guadalajara, Durango, Chihuahua, Aguascalientes and Puebla. In addition, important projects are being promoted that will bring about the development of the state, such as the expansion of the Port of Progreso, the Mayan Train and the Great Tourist and Gastronomic Corridor.
In her turn, Michelle Fridman, head of the Secretariat of Tourism Development of Yucatan (SEFOTUR), pointed out that, so far this year, there has been an 18% increase in overnight visitor arrivals, a 3.5% increase in hotel occupancy, despite having 20% more rooms than before the pandemic, and we are in the top 5 destinations with the highest number of private hotel occupancy.
“Something is happening well in Yucatan and it is that, by instructions of the Governor, we are working as a team and we will continue working with the airlines and we will continue looking for the increase of routes that translate into growth indicators, improvement of infrastructure, growth of the economy, more jobs and, all this, for the benefit of the people of Yucatan,” said the state official.
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