Meagan Drillinger
Many destinations in Mexico are touting rapid Covid-19 testing for travelers flying to the U.S. from their international airports. But Yucatan is the latest state to be working with all travel partners on the ground to create a "biosecurity bubble" from start to finish.
"We've been working on a huge structure and strategy of certification for touristic brands, services and companies," said Michelle Fridman Hirsch, secretary of tourism for Yucatan. "We can assure that every single part of the touristic industry has the certification."
She said that the biosecurity certification is uniform across all entities and extends beyond hotels and restaurants to include transportation, the airport and the port. This helps measure consistency and ensures that travelers can expect the same standards from start to finish throughout their vacation.
"What happens in Yucatan is that we are capable of offering a sanitary bubble," Fridman said. "We are able to offer the same levels of safety and health to our visitors in all of their experiences." She added that some of the local Mayan communities have adhered to the health and safety measures to receive their certification, as well.
The latest development is that Merida's international airport has opened a small laboratory to help travelers take the rapid antigen test there. Travelers do not need an appointment. All they need to do is show a ticket to the U.S. and they can get the test.
Unfortunately, no state in Mexico requires arrivals to prove that they are Covid-free, which poses a blatant break in the chain of control. The decision to require negative Covid tests on arrival has to come from the federal government. The only thing that destinations in Mexico can do is enforce social distancing and mask-wearing in public areas, which is what the tourism employees in the state of Yucatan have been required to do.
Currently, Yucatan is working with an occupancy level of 60% for its hotels and restaurants. Almost every product and offer is open. Travel advisors can visit Yucatan.travel to find out what is open and what is closed, and under what conditions.
Tourism expansion in Yucatan
As travel to Mexico continues to be in demand, destinations like Yucatan are expanding their tourism offerings. Earlier this year, Yucatan got a new direct flight with Volaris between Merida and Oakland, Calif. According to Fridman, the largest community of Yucatecans in the U.S. is based in Oakland. The intention of the flight was to make it easier for Mexicans to come home. For Americans on the West Coast, however, it also opens up a new route to the eastern coast of Mexico and a way to live the Yucatan experience.
Yucatan continues to expand in other ways, as well, specifically in the cruise segment. The port of Progreso has been in development and expansion for the past two years.
"Before Covid, the growth in Progreso was a record level in every way. We have new infrastructure, new products, and more qualified providers," Fridman said. In 2019, a record number of cruise ships arrived in Progreso, and in 2020 it was announced that 40 new sailings from MSC Cruises would be arriving as well as the destination's first arrival from Disney Cruise Lines. Of course, Covid changed things considerably, but Fridman is optimistic about the return and has discussed the certification program and sanitary bubbles with the cruise lines.
And Progreso has seen an increase in land tourism, Fridman said. The coastline of Yucatan enjoys the same sugar-colored beaches as the rest of the peninsula, without the overdevelopment. Still, the destination continues to grow, with new restaurants, hotels and a strengthened infrastructure. Yucatan has nearly 250 miles of beaches and four Pueblo Magicos, two of which were added last year.
Despite the increase in interest and development, Yucatan is committed to keeping the destination sustainable.
"As soon as we arrived at this administration, we developed a plan making a sustainable development for tourism in Yucatan," Fridman said. "Being such a rich state, with all of our culture and the natural resources, we need to take care of what makes us so rich."
Despite the many challenges and suffering that Covid-19 brought, one thing Fridman recognizes is that Covid-19 highlighted the importance of sustainability.
"It has shown us as an industry many things, and one of the main things is that we cannot continue to be easy on sustainability," she said. "We need to be more sustainable. Covid-19 showed us that it is not an option. The virus came to speed up what we needed to be doing all along."