Event tourism in Cancun recovers from the pandemic
The events tourism sector in Cancun was one of the most affected; now they are smaller but more productive.
The meetings tourism segment, which represents 35 percent of hotel occupancy in Cancun, was one of the most affected in the context of the pandemic and little by little has been adapting to the new modality; for example, weddings have become smaller events, but more produced and with a higher budget, as Rocío González of MPI Caribe Mexicano explained, announcing the first edition of Vive MICE 2021 next October.
From October 13 to 17, the first edition of Vive MICE will be held, a congress aimed at event organizers and group attraction in order to learn about new openings, innovations, protocols and certifications aimed at the meetings and romance tourism client segment.
"The Mexican Caribbean is and will continue to be the best destination in the Mexican Caribbean, the infrastructure and air connectivity, the handicrafts, the beaches and the warmth of our people, and we decided to have an event in which clients can learn, after these months, about openings, independent locations, suppliers," explained Rocio Gonzalez.
The program of this first event aimed at the meetings and romance tourism segment, integrates a combination of services in which clients will "live the Mexican Caribbean".
Dario Flota of the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council said that this event will serve to reactivate this segment, which has been one of the "hardest hit by the pandemic" and one of those that has worked hardest to develop new operating models and protocols.
He also assured that there is no quantification of the industry's losses, but it was practically a year in which events were postponed and cancelled, and in this segment, the return has been much slower than expected.
She indicated that the meetings industry went through several stages, in the first one a survey was carried out, where an upturn was expected in the second half of last year; however, "the dates were being moved back, and when a recovery was expected as of September 2020, more dates were moved back and we are just now seeing signs of recovery".
In this sense, Rocio Gonzalez assured that the market that has recovered the fastest has been the wedding market, but these have been modified to adapt to the new modality.
Lorena Armengual of the Vive MICE Organizing Committee added that the investment in weddings has improved, but that the Indian and Jewish markets have shown an upturn in the organization of larger events.
"They have had a faster reaction, and with weddings of two to three months, with 200 and 300 and a little more people, I think that this reactivation in this part of the wedding segment is important," he said.
