The president of the hoteliers of Cancun, Puerto Morelos, and the Continental Zone of Isla Mujeres, Jesús Almaguer Salazar, made an urgent call to improve tourism promotion in the region.
“We must fully exploit the American market apart from the national one, our base. Promotion is basic, and we let the summer pass and we attract more people from Texas or California,” he said.
Almaguer Salazar, president of the hotel association, emphasized the importance of working with airlines to generate the necessary tourist flow.
He also highlighted that the new federal tourism secretary knows this situation and has expressed interest in working immediately on tourism promotion.
“With Latin tourism, the numbers would have risen a little because they leave a good economic impact,” added the spokesperson for the hoteliers.
Francisco Madrid Flores, director of the Sustainable Tourism Advanced Research Center (STARC), pointed out that the slowdown in the 2024 summer season was due to factors such as insecurity, lack of promotion, insufficient air supply, and the exchange rate.
Likewise, Madrid revealed that the official VisitMéxico site has seen a drastic drop in visits, going from four million in October 2022 to only 64,338 in August 2024.
The STARC study also highlights the challenges facing the tourism sector in Mexico for the 2024-2025 winter season, including internal factors such as the Judicial Reform, the weakening of public finances, and the increase in costs for new labor benefits.
In addition, external factors such as the slowdown in the U.S. economy and international competition pose significant challenges.
Even though Americans have traveled more than ever, Mexico has lost ground in the U.S. market. In August 2023, Mexico captured 16.7% of US tourism. In 2024, this figure has fallen to 14.2%. The latter is due to competition, prices, and lack of proper promotion.
TYT Newsroom
