Mexico City-based budget airline Volaris has announced it is opening a new route from McAllen, Texas, to Cancún in July.

Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa confirmed the announcement Wednesday, saying the new route will strengthen the “new era of tourism” in her state, home to some of Mexico’s most popular beach destinations, including Cancún, Tulum and Playa del Carmen.

The route will feature two flights per week beginning on July 3, linking the Texas border town with the popular resort destination on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. Volaris announced the flights will be offered Wednesdays and Saturdays, leaving Cancún at 12:15 p.m. and returning from McAllen at around 4:05 p.m.

“This is a clear example of how collaborative efforts can overcome obstacles to build stronger connections among communities,” Lezama said Wednesday. “With this new route, Quintana Roo embarks upon a new era of tourism that promises unforgettable experiences for visitors to our state.”

The state has over 130,000 hotel rooms, and this number is expected to increase in 2024 with the addition of a growing number of vacation rentals. Quintana Roo also saw 6.1 million cruise passengers arrive during 2023.

Cancún International Airport boasts connectivity to more than 40 US cities and it ended 2023 with record-breaking tourism figures. The airport received roughly 33.7 million visitors last year. ​​Revenue from tourism was reported to be 12% higher in 2023 than the year before, reaching US $21 billion.

“It has undoubtedly been a great year for Cancún, with numerous high-level events taking place,” Benito Juárez Tourism Minister Juan Pablo de Zulueta Razo said in early January. Benito Juárez is the municipality in which the city of Cancún, its municipal seat, is located.

The announcement of the new route comes five months after Mexico’s aviation safety rating was restored to Category 1 by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Mexico’s rating had been downgraded to Category 2 in May 2021 after the FAA found “the country did not meet International Civil Aviation Organization safety standards.”

With the safety rating restored, Mexican airlines are allowed to open new services and routes to the United States and have already announced a significant number of new flights connecting the two countries.

With reports from La Jornada Maya