Hotels in Yucatan were occupied as much as 15% on weekends after reaching bottom in July and August when only 5% of rooms were booked on average. Most guests were regional tourists.
The numbers, announced by the Mexican Association of Yucatan Hotels, lead tourism experts to believe that this bodes well for the December holiday period. They do not, however, think occupancy will rise in October and November.
In an interview with Sipse, the association’s president, Héctor Navarrete Medina, recalled that the road to rebound follows being closed since spring under coronavirus contingencies. But slowly, more tourists are being observed sightseeing. Even a horse-led carriage was spotted carrying passengers on the Paseo de Montejo last week — once a common sight in Merida.
“There are people who are resuming travel,” he said. “We are pleased to continue serving them and above all, that it helps us to improve our activity.”
He added that an increase in travelers to Yucatan will go hand in hand with a decrease in COVID-19 cases, so hotels are redoubling efforts to combat the coronavirus.
The president of the Association of Tourism Promotion Agencies of Yucatan, Luis Herrera Albertos, agreed that for the next two months, hotel occupancy is expected to plateau. But “we have our sights set” on December, he told Sipse.