Tourism to Mexico is breaking all records in 2018, with 10.6 million visitors in the first three months of the year alone. The number of people flocking to Mexico is more than 12% above the levels seen in the first three months of last year.
Easter Season Visits Particularly Strong
Robust increases were particularly notable during the Easter season, which fell in March this year.
The Mexico Tourism Board reports that 4 million tourists arrived in Mexico during the single month of March, 14.6% more than the number that arrived in March 2017.
Cancun was one of the most popular sites. Cancun International Airport received more than 2 million arrivals in March alone, more than 14% over March 2017 levels, as reported by Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, the airport’s operator. Of those arrivals, 1.56 million were international tourists coming to Mexico.
As a result, resorts and hotels in the Cancun area enjoyed high levels of tourism and extremely high occupancy during March. Roughly 3,000-5,000 tourists visited the beaches in Cancun every day during March.
Cancun and areas along Riviera Maya saw an occupancy rate average of 90% during the March Easter season. The resort towns and cities surrounding Cancun, such as Holbox, Bacalar, and Mahahual, were fully booked, with a 100% occupancy.
Almost all the hotel rooms in Quintana Roo were fully booked, with tourists coming from Canada, the United States, South America, and Europe.
Tourists from colder climes definitely lead the parade, with Toronto, Chicago, New York, and Montreal being the most frequent home towns of visitors.
The record-breaking tourism numbers in the first quarter led to a 7.2% increase in revenue derived from tourism, which hit $6.2 billion.
Rise in Air and Cruise Travel Year Over Year
The first three months of 2018 saw 2.9 million visitors flying to Mexico from the United States, a 4% from the first three months of 2017.
The rise in cruise tourism was even stronger, climbing 10.4% over last year’s first quarter. In total, 2.6 million tourists entered Mexico as part of a cruise.
More than 5 million tourists entered Mexico via land. Of these, 4.3 million were border visitors. Their nationality is not demarcated, but the Mexico Tourism Board indicated that over 90% came from the United States.
The record-setting pace of tourism will likely have effects during the summer season. A number of airlines, taking note of Cancun’s spring popularity, have increased the number of routes for the summer. Sun Country, for example, is adding more direct flights to Cancun beginning in mid-June.
