Tourism resurgence in Yucatán – The Yucatan Occasions

Those who know about the subject expect that there will soon be a tourist boom after the time of childbirth. What will change for this activity?

April 23, 2021, (THE FINANCIAL) .- We are in the final stages of the pandemic before the resurgence of tourism on a global scale. Many tour operators predict that we do not know whether we will naively see a tourist “boom” in the second half of this year, which will result from a year and a half in prison.

Let’s assume the forecast is true. that by the end of 2021 we will have clear indicators of a recovery. The question that arises is: will tourism return to the way we knew it, or will the pandemic have reconfigured activity by then?

Due to the large concentration of tourists we see in beach destinations like Acapulco and Cancun, we expect mass tourism to continue even if the pandemic is not controlled. Everything seems to suggest that as vaccination covers larger age groups, vacationers are forgetting about distance restrictions and traveling to destinations that are attractive to them, regardless of the crowd. However, some behaviors may have changed.

Post-pandemic forecasts

1. Travelers are more aware of hygiene measures and choose destinations that offer their service providers reliability. Hotels, airlines, restaurants and travel guides that have certifications and adhere to health measures will be more successful. Bio-sanitary security is something that will stay here.

2. Small tourism will grow considerably. Here we can group private or small group tours, visits to rural communities, adventure tourism and the outdoors.

3. The business travel segment will be reduced. Many individual business travelers are replacing travel with video conferencing. Companies have recognized that travel is not always important in order to conduct an interview or deliver an executive report.

4. The context of MICE tourism (meetings, incentives, congresses and exhibitions) will be influenced for at least twelve months. This segment of tourism is planned well in advance and the organizers have not yet made a firm decision to organize face-to-face meetings. Only the incentives subsegment will recover more quickly.

Opportunity to consolidate the Yucatan’s tourist vocation

Yucatán has been offered as a diverse travel destination since before the pandemic. On the one hand, it is positive that a travel destination offers a wide range of activities, restaurants, and a wide range of accommodations. On the other hand, it is also important that there be clarity in the minds of future travelers about the three or four types of tourism that define the city they will be visiting.

Yucatan has the infrastructure and attractions to cement its tourist vocation in the following niches:

• a) Cultural and gastronomic
• b) Adventure and nature
• c) destination weddings
• d) meet tourism

21st century convention center

Governor Mauricio Vila turned the 21st century into a hospital. It’s time for the venue to return to its original destination: the largest exhibition and convention center in the southeast of the country.

I understand the governor’s reasons. You don’t want to see bed occupancy skyrocket by removing all beds from the makeshift hospital. But the meeting industry can’t wait any longer. Tourism is an economic activity based on perception management. As long as the 21st century remains closed, the sign is that Yucatán is not finished yet and the organizers will not plan anything for the next twelve months.

If we want conference tourism to be reactivated by early 2022, the Yucatán Siglo XXI convention center must reopen now.

Mérida International Airport

This week the controversy over the construction of a new airport in Mérida was rekindled. The reality is that the current version works perfectly and has just received an upgrade that will allow it to work for the next twelve years. Its disadvantage is that it is in the middle of the city and its surface has increased the social and economic divisions of its residents on either side of the flight terminal.

A new airport on the periphery would give the city a large area that could reduce the city’s pronounced inequalities. One would have to wonder, however, whether an investment in these dimensions is what the city needs to correct this inequality.

Unfortunately, whether the work is justified or not is relatively irrelevant. What drives these decisions are political interests and economic reasons that are not always visible to society. We’ll soon know where this story leads.

Source: THE FINANCIAL

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