Fifty years ago, the Mexican island of Cancún was home to a small fishing village and deserted beaches. Now it’s one of the most visited vacation destinations in Latin America, its shores teeming with hundreds of sunbathers, children playing in the white sands and young tourists looking to party. spare.
After being hit by the most severe stages of the pandemic, tourism has boomed again. As of now, nearly 20 million passengers have passed through Cancún airport this year. Unlike most rival destinations, it had more visitors in September, October and November than in the same period in 2019 and a hotel occupancy of 57%, better than the Caribbean, Hawaii or Bali , according to STR, a hotel data and analysis. Company.
In addition to year-round sunshine and a cheap trip for those with dollars, it has been helped by its proximity to the United States – whose citizens have fueled the recent boom – and the fact that Mexico never closed its borders during the pandemic. It remains one of the few countries that does not require a Covid test for entry.
“It is completely atypical in the context of the pandemic,” said Francisco Madrid, director of the Center for Tourism Research and Competition at Anáhuac University in Mexico City. “Any country, any tourist destination wants to have such results. . . The beaches of Mexico have. ”
But the resort town and its surroundings have also been causing quite a stir recently for the wrong reasons, as a number of incidents of violence have burst the tourist bubble.
Last month, gunmen stormed the Hyatt Ziva beach just east of Cancún, in the heart of the hotel complex, shooting dead alleged rival drug dealers, bringing in tourists. run away for shelter. Just a few weeks earlier, two tourists were killed at a restaurant in Tulum, about 130 kilometers south of Cancún, in the crossfire of a shootout between supposedly rival gangs.
On Tuesday morning men on jet skis opened fire at a beach outside a hotel in Cancún. Authorities said no one was injured.
Even against the backdrop of Mexico’s high murder rate, Quintana Roo, home to Cancún, stands out. The homicide rate has so far stood at 28 per 100,000 people this year in the southeastern state of Mexico, compared with the national average of 18.5 per 100,000.
Governor Quintana Roo said two of the country’s largest drug cartels, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, operating in the state, were attracted by the large market.
Hotel leaders in the area released a statement last month, blaming recent violence on fierce, ruthless fighting between gangs seeking to sell and distribute drugs in the area. area.
The Association of Hotels in Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres said: “With absolute shock, sadness and dismay, we see violence continuing to escalate. “Tourism and the economic recovery are hanging by a rope.”
In response, the federal government started a new travel security battalion in the state last week with more than 1,400 National Guard army.
“We will strengthen the security, the presence of national security in the autonomous cities of Quintana Roo. . . People have died, Mexicans and foreigners, and that can’t happen again,” Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said in November.
“My mother is the one who made me conscious of that,” said Sharif LaPalma, a U.S.-Argentinian citizen, while on vacation with high school friends on the beach in Puerto Morelos, just south of Cancún. “The reality of seeing. . . The soldiers on the street make you realize ‘OK something is happening here’, but we haven’t experienced anything yet. “
Although tourist areas are generally very safe, nearly 85 percent of residents in Cancún reported feeling unsafe in the city, far higher than most cities in the country, according to a survey by Cancún. INEGI government statistics agency.
Blackmail is also a big problem for local businesses, although it’s not openly discussed. A shop owner near the beach said criminals had called for ransom a few times, but they had just hung up and tried to keep them there for a short time.
“When they come and blackmail me, I’ll close the door,” said the person, who declined to be named for fear of reprisal.
Although the security environment is deteriorating, tourists know that if they stick to the hotel area, they will most likely be fine.
“Where we come from is worse. . . Héctor, a tourist from Monterrey said. “All the tourists that I met did not leave the hotel area. . . They know it’s dangerous.”
