Travelers to Cozumel and Mahahual, Mexico, will soon need to budget a little extra for their cruise vacations. In a historic move, Governor Mara Lezama of Quintana Roo announced a $5 fee for each cruise passenger visiting these popular ports.
This fee, set to take effect in early 2025, is part of a broader initiative to fund vital tourism infrastructure and bolster natural disaster preparedness across the region.
The Cruise Tourism Development Fund, as it’s called, will directly benefit local communities and ensure long-term sustainability.
“Thanks to the sum of wills through the new agreement, we will work hand in hand with the ships through the Florida-Caribe Cruise Association,” said Lezama.
She continued, “A historic step towards more fair, inclusive, sustainable tourism and with shared prosperity in the Mexican Caribe.”
In a signing ceremony attended by key figures such as new Tourism Secretary Bernardo Cueto and FCCA representatives Michele Paige and Adam Ceserano, details revealed the funds raised by the fund will be split between two major trusts.
Seventy percent of funds will go to the Trust for Tourism Infrastructure, focusing on essential projects like port maintenance, road improvements, beach revitalization, and historic site restoration.
The remaining 30 percent will be allocated to the Trust for the Attention of Natural Disasters, designed to aid in disaster recovery and preparedness, especially in the face of hurricanes and other natural events.
The new fund, part of an effort to generate between $20 to $25 million annually, will be overseen by a technical committee. Its primary objectives include improving tourism infrastructure, bolstering port security, and strengthening the region’s response to natural disasters.
Some details remain to iron out, such as whether passengers visiting both ports on the same cruise will be charged the fee twice or just once.
Mexico’s Cruise Tourism Surges
Cozumel and Mahahual continue to be among the most-visited cruise destinations in the world. Cozumel alone welcomed 4 million cruise visitors in 2023. At this rate, $20 million would be generated through the Cruise Tourism Development Fund.
In February 2024, then-Secretary of Tourism of Mexico Miguel Torruco Marqués said the country expected to welcome over 9.3 million cruise ship passengers to its ports in 2024. This represents a 2.4 percent increase from 2023.
The nation expects to finish the year with the arrival of 3,122 cruise ships, an 8 percent increase over 2023 and 5.8 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Cruise Ships Docked in Cozumel, Mexico (Photo Credit: JorgeSuarez)
Cozumel, an island in the Caribbean Sea located off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, is about 12 miles from the mainland and near Playa del Carmen. Renowned for its stunning coral reefs, it will lead Mexico’s cruise tourism with the arrival of 1,199 cruise ships in 2024, accounting for 34.8 percent of all cruise ship visits to the North American nation.
It is followed by Mahahual, situated on the Costa Maya, 217 miles south of Cancun. Last year, the port welcomed 462 cruise ship calls.
Between January and April 2024, Cozumel witnessed 520 cruise ship arrivals, delivering 1.81 million passengers. This was a 14.2 percent increase in visitors over the same period of 2023.
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For Mahahual, 844,087 cruise passengers disembarked from 207 cruise ships in the same months. This reflected a 35.6 percent increase in passengers and a 15.6 percent increase in the number of ships.
Had the tourism fee been in effect, it would have generated more than $13.2 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2024.
Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta round out Mexico’s five busiest ports.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
