Cancun, QR. In the first half of this year, the airports of Cancun and Cozumel report new flights departing from different cities around the world such as Newark NJ, Indianapolis IN, San Francisco CA, Columbus OH, New Orleans LA, Los Angeles CA, Memphis TN, Austin TX, Pittsburgh PA, Raleigh PA, San Salvador (El Salvador), Munich (Germany), Chihuahua and Torreón (México).
Marisol Vanegas Pérez, Secretary of Tourism of Quintana Roo, said that in addition to these flights, the Aeroméxico Cancun-Medellín flight will open for the coming months, which will start operating from November 17 to April 28, 2019 and plans to receive almost 10,000 passengers.
“In addition, Turkish Airlines will begin a direct flight to Cancun in 2019, which undoubtedly opens the range of opportunities for a destination of excellence and world fame such as Cancun to diversify and explore new markets,” she said.
Regarding the supply of airplane seats from the United States, the main market for the destinations in Quintana Roo, Vanegas Pérez said that in July there was a 16% increase in the supply of airplane seats, compared with the same month in 2017; while in August of this year the forecast is an increase of 4.2%, September 5.0% and October 2.0%.
During the first half of 2018, the Cancun International Airport reported a volume of 12.9 million passengers, representing an increase of 7.0% over the same period of 2017 and according to Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR). ), the International Airport of Cozumel also increased its passenger volume 3.4% at an annual rate and, with an influx of more than 314,000 passengers.
The Chetumal air terminal reported an annual growth of 24.6% in its volume of users, adding 154,700 passengers.
The significant increase in the number of passengers reported by ASUR also implied an increase in the arrival of domestic tourists, a segment that grew 10.0%, and the volume of international tourists increased in 4.8%.
Regarding the volume of international passengers who arrived in Cancun from US airports, the Secretary of Tourism said that in the first half of the year, a volume of 2.5 million was registered, which means an annual rate of 0.2%. Meanwhile, the arrival of passengers via cruisers in Cozumel and Mahahual presented a growth of 16.4% in the first six months of the current year.
In a separate interview, Elsa Miriam Cortés Franco, executive president of the Association of Vacation Clubs of Quintana Roo, said that although there is an increase in the volume of passengers passing through the airport in Cancun, many of them are coming to stay in private homes that are rented through platforms such as Airbnb.
“When talking about airplane seats the numbers look good, but these visitors are not generating the same economic impact for the hotel industry. We definitely need to regulate these online marketplace and hospitality service operators, before there is a major negative impact on the hotel industry in the state of Quintana Roo, “Cortés Franco concluded.
TYT Newsroom with information from eleconomista.com.mx