Quintana Roo had its busiest September ever in terms of airline passenger arrivals.   

More than 1 million people flew into the Caribbean coast state’s three airports last month, the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council (CPTQ) reported without citing an exact figure.  

The state’s busiest airport is that in Cancún, followed by those in Cozumel – an island off the coast of Playa del Carmen – and Chetumal, the Quintana Roo capital. 

A new army-built commercial airport is slated to open in Tulum in 2023. 

Exceeding 1 million air arrivals in September is especially significant as the month is traditionally the worst for tourism in Quintana Roo. The high number of incoming travelers is welcome news for tourism-oriented businesses that were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and associated restrictions. 

The CPTQ said in a statement that the 1 million + passengers arrived on 7,100 flights from 101 cities in 25 countries. Quintana Roo’s wide range of tourist attractions and “air connectivity” to Mexican and foreign cities spurred the influx of visitors, the council said. 

The Quintana Roo economy is heavily dependent on tourism, but the sector has faced a range of challenges in recent years including the pandemic, violent crime and the annual arrival of sargassum, a brown seaweed that sullies the state’s white sand beaches and turquoise waters. 

With reports from La Jornada Maya