Yucatan Enterprise Council says tourism sector can’t endure extra restrictions – The Yucatan Instances

Mérida, Yucatán, (June 19, 2021) .- The Yucatan tourism industry is in a contradicting position due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic: business people are promoting tourist destinations and generating economic benefits, and the state government is imposing restrictive measures on them inhibit.

If the government increased restrictions, would that kill tourism? The President of the Yucatan Tourism Business Council, Jorge Carrillo Sáenz, was asked in an interview.

“I think we would be seriously affected if we go back to the previous restrictions,” he replied. “The entire industry would be affected, it is difficult to think of advertising campaigns for the coming visitors; and when they arrive they find that there are mobility restrictions, that restaurants invite you to retire at 11pm, that they have limited capacity, all of these measures inhibit tourism, ”he said.

“The hotels in the city have a very low occupancy, you can say that they are 100% occupied, but the reality is that they are at most 20%,” affirmed the hotel entrepreneur. “If they close some archaeological sites and the beaches, things could get worse. The few tourists who come and find that the destinations are not open do not return to the Yucatan and therefore there is no economic loss which is very important at this point.

Many families and businesses are dependent on tourism and decision-makers are called upon to analyze the impact of the actions they have taken. We are aware that there is a health problem, but we must not lose sight of the economic issue as it has a huge impact on people’s survival, ”he complained.

Carrillo Sáenz stated that thinking about implementing new restrictive measures in addition to the three that the government announced on June 9th is thinking about a setback and it would be very difficult for the tourism sector and other productive sectors to overcome too.

“If people don’t die for health reasons, they die of hunger,” he emphasized. “People have to eat, the activities have to be continued, if right now there is an increase in cases for various reasons, whether it is true or not young people, instead of looking for perpetrators, they should take part in an awareness-raising process work campaign promoted among young people who don’t hug, don’t greet each other with a kiss, keep a healthy distance and use hygiene protocols, ”he stated.

The leader of the Cetur reported that tourism is gradually recovering, not at the speed business people would like, and in these times of the pandemic, those who come to the Yucatan are visitors, not tourists. He says you have to distinguish between visitors and tourists. The former only come for professional reasons and are currently also affected due to the health problem and the increase in infections. And the latter come on vacation and leave behind an economic crisis.

“The change in the timetable (vehicle traffic is prohibited from 11:30 am to 5:00 am every day) has an impact on tourism,” he repeated. “Those who come to work obviously prefer not to stay here because the nightly activities end at a certain time. They prefer to return to their place of origin on the same day or reduce the number of visiting days. And if they come for work or visit the cities of the peninsula, they prefer to stay in one of the two neighboring states (Campeche and Quintana Roo).

What if the beaches close due to the increase in infections? He was asked.

“The beaches are an important part of tourist activity and if we say that there are no foreign tourists today, when the beaches are closed, the same thing that happened in July and August last year will happen, there will be no economic impact Ports and it would be a shame, ”he indicated. “Entrepreneurs and port residents are used to the arrival of people and hope for the economic crisis that local tourists are leaving. If the ports are closed it will be a severe blow to everyone, so it is important to analyze all the measures that you are applying. We have to think of the family economy, in the productive sector, which is already badly affected. Today we have to find a way to overcome this situation, Yucatecan families can no longer bear this pandemic, we have to think about how we can reactivate the state economy, ”concluded the President of the Yucatan Tourism Business Council, Jorge Carrillo Sáenz.

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