Cancun hotels propose to open in June with “coronavirus free” certification

The Cancun hotel industry plans to reopen its doors on June 1 and wants to do so by selling itself as a “Covid-free” or coronavirus-free destination.

CANCUN Quintana Roo (El Universal) – In response to the health emergency caused by Covid-19, the Cancun hotel industry plans to reopen its doors on June 1 and wants to do so by selling itself as a “Covid-free” or coronavirus-free destination”, for which it is promoting the creation of a new certificate to be granted by the Ministries of Health and Tourism.

The proposal was made by the president of the Hotel Association of Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres, Roberto Cintron Gomez, and his counterpart at the Mexican Association of Hotels and Motels (AMHM), Rafael Garcia, who is already lobbying on the issue at the federal level.

In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL, Cintron Gomez reported that he also discussed the badge with the governor of Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez, and the head of the State Secretariat of Tourism (Sedetur), Marisol Vanegas, who welcomed the proposal.

“We have to hurry. The idea is that the hotels here, open on June 1, following the date of reactivation given by the federal government, if that date is maintained and there are conditions. Apart from that, we think that a ‘COVID-free’ certificate should be created so that the entire state, the entire tourism industry of the state, restaurants, ecotourism parks, discos, marinas, casinos (…) can be launched on that date as a ‘COVID-Free destination,’ he said.

The issuance of the certification would depend on the speed of the Health and Tourism institutions. They need to begin with the definition of the criteria to continue with the inspections and the delivery of badges, to be ready with the reopening of the tourism sector, one of the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

He acknowledged that the issue is not straightforward because despite having the badge, the recovery of the local tourism industry depends mainly on the reestablishment of the issuing markets; the United States and Canada represent 43% of the market that receives the Mexican Caribbean.

Therefore, the bet would be on the domestic market, which will be the first to react, although not 100%.

On June 1, the students are expected to return to the classrooms in person so that the summer holidays will be suspended, and the economic conditions are not optimal for immediate travel.

This situation, he said, will impact the reopening of hotels, whose market is mainly American, such as the Palace Resorts chain, the Ritz Carlton, or hotels like Royalton.

The occupancy rates of March 2020, before the pandemic, will not be equaled until 2021. “While we are doing well, by December, there may be some hotels full, but until there is a vaccine, we will not be able to recover occupancy levels until 2021,” he said.

On April 17, Cancun registered the lowest occupancy rate in its history in the last ten years, with only 2.7%. At that time, 140 hotels in Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres had closed their doors, equivalent to 40,998 rooms.

As of this Thursday, the sum of closed lodging centers reaches 157 establishments, with 44,655 rooms not in operation.

However, hotel occupancy in Cancun is 8%; 5.3 points more than on its worst day. This upward variation does not mean that hotel occupancy has grown due to the presence of vacationers, said the president of the hoteliers.

It happens that with the closure of more hotels, the few remaining guests are divided among a smaller number of rooms. Besides, more suppliers and medical personnel have arrived in the city.

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