The jewel in Mexico’s tourism crown continues to be the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, popular with both domestic and foreign travelers.

The number of arrivals continues to rise, according to state tourism authorities, fueling high expectations by the industry for the coming summer vacation period.

The Quintana Roo Secretariat of Tourism (Sedetur) said passenger volumes on the three main domestic routes landing in Cancún were up during May. The biggest increase was in arrivals from Guadalajara, up by 25%. Flights from Monterrey and Mexico City were next, increasing by 16% and 5.9% respectively.

A similar story was reported on the international level: the number of passengers arriving from Toronto, Canada, rose by 14.5%, while those from the United States cities of Houston and Chicago were up by 3.8% and 1.9%.

Civil aviation authorities said that overall the number of domestic passenger arrivals increased by 13% in the first four months of the year, while international passengers rose by almost 3%.

Visitors from the United States, Canada, Argentina, the United Kingdom and Brazil continue to favor the Mexican Caribbean and the nearly 101,000 hotel rooms available in Quintana Roo’s 1,067 hotels.

Tourism Secretary Marisol Vanegas Pérez acknowledged that an outstanding issue for the state tourism industry is to bridge the inequality gap between the northern and southern parts of the state, and deliver the benefits of the state’s main economic activity to the areas that need it.

Tourism, she added, must help in raising the quality of life of residents.

Source: Milenio (sp)