One way of looking at the spatial pattern of how well tourism is doing is to examine hotel occupancy rates. Mexico’s Tourism Secretariat regularly publishes data for 70 tourist destinations across the country, ranging from major vacation resorts to cities where business-tourism is more important. Hotel occupancy rates have risen steadily in Mexico for 14 consecutive months, with a 6.3% increase year-on-year for the period January-May.
Some destinations are doing better than others. Occupancy in the Riviera Maya, Cancún and Puerto Vallarta rose by 3.1%, 8.7% and 10.6% respectively, compared to 5.6% in Huatulco (Oaxaca), 8.5% in La Paz and 8.1% in Loreto (both in Baja California Sur).
The increase in large cities (Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey) was smaller than average, while occupancy rates for four mid-sized interior cities rose much faster than average: 23.8% in Querétaro, 32% in Zacatecas, 35% in Aguascalientes and 37% in Guanajuato.
The increase in occupancy rates for other destinations for the period Jan-May included:
- Puebla 15.1%
- Oaxaca 8.0%
- Mérida 6.3%
- León 1%
- Tijuana 6.6%
- San Luis Potosí 16.9%
- Morelia 10.1%
- Villahermosa 33.1%
- San Cristóbal de las Casas 12.2%.
- Xalapa 8.9%
Related posts:
- The development of Huatulco, the tourist resort in southern Oaxaca
- The growth of Cancún, Mexico leading tourist resort
- Sharp decline in number of cruise ships visiting Mexico [30 July 2011]
- Drug violence: is it safe to travel to Mexico? [18 July 2011]
- Is tourism in Mexico expanding? [11 September 2010]
- Tourism based on major events in Mexico (“concert tourism”) [4 April 2010]
- The importance of tourism to Mexico’s economy [4 March 2010]
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