Mexico resumes tourism in Cancún despite surge in coronavirus cases

Mexico’s Caribbean coast resorts of Cancún and the Riviera Maya have welcomed their first tourists , after more than two months when almost all the hotels were shut.

But the few dozen tourists who showed up Monday at the 41 hotels that have partly reopened in Cancún , Isla Mujeres , and Puerto Morelos , are a mere symbolic trickle compared to the 23 million that crowded the coast last year, bringing about $15 billion to the local economy .

It’s a slow start; hotels will only be allowed to reach 30% of their capacity to avoid crowding. More capacity will be allowed later with some hotels hoping to reach 50% of capacity in July . Before the pandemic, occupancy rates of 85% were not uncommon.

Gibran

Chapur

, the vice-president of the Palace resort chain, said his company welcomed about 300 tourists on the first day, 70% of them from the United States.

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Hundreds of employees formed human welcoming chains at the Moon Palace resort south of Cancún as the first tourists drove up to the lobby, where they were welcomed with mariachis . Chapur said the Palace resorts were already receiving a lot of reservations for July and November , and that many were eager to get out of lockdown and enjoy the outside world again.

“We have to activate the economy , but putting people’s health first in order to save lives,” said Carlos Joaquín , the governor of Quintana Roo state , where Cancún is located.

accounts for about 50% of all economic activity in the state, which has a total of about 107,000 hotel rooms . To date, the state has had about 2,235 coronavirus case s and 427 deaths. But the worst of the local outbreak appears to be over, and Cancún is one of the parts of the country where reopening has been authorized.

Chapur said some things will change due to the virus, like disinfecting all luggage and shoes; buffets and paper menus at the resorts’ restaurants are probably a thing of the past.

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So far, hotel occupancy rises to 7,008 rooms in Cancún , 33 in Puerto Morelos , and 414 in Isla Mujeres for a total of 7,0455.

Some of the hotels that reopened its doors are the Real Inn Cancún, the Holyday Inn Cancún Arenas, the Crown Paradise, Aquamarina Beach, Emporio Cancún, Riu Palace Península, Moon Palace The Grand, Hard Rock, Flaminio Cancún, G.R.Caribe, JW Marriot Cancún, Dos Playas, Maya Caribe, Imperial Laguna, Imperial Las Perlas, Hacienda Cancún, and NYX Cancún.

The Ambiance, Confort Inn, La Quinta Suites, Cancún Handall, Xbalamqué, María de Lourdes, City Express, El Batab, Hampton Inn by Hilton, Cancún Internacional Suites, Colonia, Carrillos, Suites Alborada, Plaza Kokai, Caoba Bonampak, Jardín, Posada Irma, City Express Riviera, Kavia Cancún, Parador, and Tropical are other hotels included in the list.

Meanwhile, only one hotel in Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujere s opened: Gotas de Sal and Villas del Palmar Cancún, correspondingly.

Flights scheduled on June 8 came from Chicago , Philadelphia , Houston , Miami , and Dallas .

In the city, where it was allowed to open shops , restaurants , cafés , and movie theaters, most people chose to wait and did not open.

Although there is more movement in downtown Cancún, it was not as much as expected. Taxi drivers agreed that people are still at their homes.

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