Some 11.9 million tourists will flock to Mexico’s beaches between March 23 and April 7, during the Holy Week and Easter holidays, according to data from the Tourism Ministry.

Mexican beach hotels are expected to reach near full capacity during the upcoming vacation weeks, meeting or surpassing the numbers recorded in 2019.

“Our reports show that hotel room sales will significantly increase during Holy Week and Easter, with double-digit growth compared to the previous year,” said Braulio Arsuaga, president of the National Tourism Business Council (CNET).

Records from the Tourism Ministry (Sectur) show that hotel occupancy at the main beach areas reached 75.8% during Easter break in 2023. Expectations for this year’s holiday period are 78.9%, matching the hotel occupancy rate recorded in 2019.

Nationwide, hotel occupancy during Easter break is estimated to reach 62.5%, which is 1.8 points higher than in 2023. Of the 6.1 million tourists expected to stay in hotels, 76.6% are national travelers and 23.4% are international travelers.

Due to the high number of expected tourists, authorities will activate security and surveillance operations along the country, monitoring 240 highway routes with the help of 633 Green Angels, a special highway security body deployed during peak tourism seasons.  

What about Acapulco?

A popular beach destination for national and international tourists, Acapulco is still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Otis in October.

Governor of Guerrero Evelyn Salgado Pineda has reported that 180 hotels are fully operational, offering 8,326 rooms — 68% of the locally registered hotel supply. Salgado said this figure is increasing every day. 

However, according to Sectur, hotel occupancy in Acapulco from February 26 to March 3, based on available supply, was only 22.3%.

With reports from Expansión, La Jornada and Cuarto Poder