Los Cabos Tourism Recovery Now Leads Mexico Beach Destinations

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Last Updated 4 years ago

Hotel occupancy plummeted across Mexico's beach destinations in January but Los Cabos is fairing better than most. According to data published by the Ministry of Tourism, Los Cabos hotel occupancy was down the least when compared with other popular beach destinations in Mexico including Puerto Vallarta and Cancun.

Los Cabos registered a 44.1% drop in hotel occupancy when compared to same the same week in January last year. Comparatively, Cancun registered a decrease of 48.4% while Puerto Vallarta has struggled the most down 58% from the same time last year.

Hotel Occupancy Drops With New Travel Restrictions

Beach destinations in Mexico were the first to take the hit when the Canadian government announced its flight ban to sunny destinations and now requires citizens returning home to quarantine in a hotel while waiting for Covid-19 test results.

Additionally, the United States implemented a new requirement that all Americans returning home must present proof of a negative Covid-19 test.

Los Cabos led hotel occupancy rates among Mexico beach destinations at 30.7% while Cancun registered 28.9% and Puerto Vallarta reported 26.7%. Overall Mexico's hotel occupancy country wide came in at 22.8%.

Mexico’s Tourism Department said that the information is based on results from 12 cities, which account for 42.5% of the rooms in the 70 destinations they regularly monitor.

Cancun Registers Increase In Flights

While Los Cabos may have led the way in January, it appears February occupancy numbers could look very different. Last week ASUR, who manages the Cancun International Airport, reported an increase in the number of flights over the President's Day long weekend with upwards of 400 flights on the Saturday alone. Photos and video posted to social media from the Cancun airport showed long lines with hundreds of tourists waiting to get through immigration.

Last week, American Airlines announced a new flight to Cancun it is launching for its summer season, which brings one new route from LAX to Cancun.

After nearly six years of absence in service, U.S. airline Frontier will be operating flights to Cancun from Denver and Orlando this month, with services from Orlando and Miami to begin in March. 

Southwest Airlines is also set to begin daily service of flights from Phoenix to Cancun in March.

While Cancun continues to see increased flight connectivity Los Cabos continues to be a major draw for American tourists looking for a quick getaway. The only requirement for entry to Mexico is that all travelers must fill out an online health declaration before arrival.

Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling.  Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories