Yucatán tourism industry grows and breaks records

The improvements in the air connectivity of the state are to enhance and attract more visitors from abroad. In January, Mérida with the offer of lodging services in Yucatan had 65.6% of visitors, Valladolid 7.1%, Chichén Itzá 3%, Izamal 1.9%, and Uxmal 1.7% The state of Yucatan has had a good start to the year since the figures show an increase in tourist activities, this is due to the work done to boost tourism in the region.

Among them was registering in January an increase in the general percentage of hotel occupancy in the state, which stood at 55.3, which means an increase of 4.2 points compared to the same month last year. Yucatan has had a presence in the Tourism Showcase of the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (Anato) 2019, which was held in Bogotá and is recognized as the most important of the industry in that country and South America, which seeks to attract a greater influx of that region.

The number of tourists with overnight stays in the territory, which in January had an increase of 17.5 percent, that is, 163 thousand 802 visitors, against 139 thousand 409 of the same period last year. Of these, 74 percent were nationals, while 26 percent corresponded to foreigners. For their part, in the state capital, 136 thousand 68 travelers arrived in January, staying overnight in that city, of which 78.4 percent were nationals and the remaining 21.6 percent were foreigners. This figure means an increase of 19.3 percent, compared to the same month in 2018, which implies a higher arrival of 21 thousand 974 visitors.

Mérida concentrated 83.1 percent of the total of tourists with overnight stays in the state, while Valladolid received 10.3 percent of that item. Yucatan was also present at the International Tourism Fair of Berlin, one of the main events of this branch in the world, to continue to consolidate the promotion and dissemination in Germany and the rest of Europe.

Yucatán received 8 thousand 500 cruise passengers per week in 2018

The port of Progreso registered the arrival of about 8,500 weekly cruise passengers on average during 2018, according to data from the Port Authority Integral (API) of that locality. About 2017, the arrival of tourists in this way registered a growth of 7.2 percent, he explained. In total, in 2018 443 thousand 352 cruise passengers arrived, 29 thousand 878 more than in 2017, when 413 thousand 474 people arrived at the main port of Yucatan.

The figure for growth in the number of passengers is similar to the behavior in the arrival of cruises in this entity during the year 2018, in comparison with the arrivals reported during the year 2017. In 2017, some 136 vessels operated by the firms that have this port among their destinations arrived at the port terminal cruise terminal.

During the period January-December 2018, 147 boats offered the so-called cruise service, representing an increase of just over 7 percent in the number of arrivals, almost similar increase in the number of passengers. The API points out that for this year it is expected that the number of both ships and passengers continue to report increases, and in this regard, he recalled that at the end of last year authorities of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), met with the Yucatecan governor, Mauricio Vila Dosal, to maintain and increase the arrivals to the Progreso cruise wharf.

During that meeting, the participants agreed to work together on issues of infrastructure, services, transportation, among others; to achieve a better positioning of Progress in the cruise industry, plans that would begin to consolidate this year. In addition, the Secretariat of Tourism Development (Sefotur) explained that during its participation in the International Tourism Fair of Madrid (Fitur) spoke with cruise companies to attract more boats to the town.