Tourism Crisis in Valladolid, service providers fear for closures during Easter Season

Valladolid, Yucatán, (March 23, 2021).- One week after the start of the Easter holidays, the tourist service providers are eager for the days to pass so they can have better sales, but above all, for the hotel occupancy to increase.

For the last two weekends, a decrease in the arrival of visitors was noted, due to the closure of the archaeological zone of Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam, since the movement of people was not observed as in previous years before the pandemic began.

Most of the tourists who come to this city came from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and the Riviera Maya, so it depends a lot on the neighboring state since the tourists that arrive don’t spend the night, but at least an important economic spill is left, benefiting restaurateurs and handicraft shops, even street vendors who work inside the main park.

However, visitors also arrive in private vehicles, but it is not much. They stay a little longer, they even eat at the Municipal Bazaar, and some stay to sleep, with the aim that the next day they move to someplace they want, including archaeological sites.

With the closure of the areas that, by the way, are reopening to the public today, tourism did not arrive, not even in passing, so that the main affected were the local tourist service providers, especially those who work in the center history of the city, which includes hoteliers, restaurateurs, artisans, among others, it was even reported that very few people arrived at the Zací cenote parador.

Some hoteliers commented that the crisis has already lasted more than a year and they do not see economic improvement in their businesses. They say that since the economy was activated they have remained between five and 10% in occupancy and sometimes it increases a little more, but it has not been enough to recover.

Now with the measures that are taken to close the areas, the situation is complicated for tourists, there is even talk that in the first week of April it will be closed again, precisely at the beginning of the Easter holidays, therefore they will continue with his bad economic situation.

They expect national tourists to stay for at least one or two nights, so they could start to see some improvement in their business, so they are already looking forward to those days they are waiting for so long.

Source: Diario de Yucatán