One billion pesos will be spent during 2026 to promote tourism across Cancun and Riviera Maya. The state of Quintana Roo will invest the money during 2026 to help counteract the extremely low tourist rate during 2025.

Artemio Santos Santos, who heads the Coordination of the Cabinet for Public Policies and Emblematic Projects, acknowledged the rather difficult year.

He said while tourism dropped for a variety of reasons, there were at lest five factors that influenced state tourism. One, he said, was the visa restriction for Brazilians, which is one of the main tourist markets for the Mexican Caribbean.

Travelers from Colombia also had a similar experience with visas, a travel market that ranks third for Quintana Roo.

According to Santos, the so-called aviation crisis also contributed to the lack of Cancun, Riviera Maya tourism during 2025. The crisis was felt due to 2.8 million less available seats in the first quarter alone. He said there were general reports of declines of up to 45 percent in some markets, which had a direct impact on destinations being able to receive tourists.

The state also recorded a busy sargassum season which resulted in a “sargassum media war” that left international travelers uncertain about the condition of local beaches.

“Even Riviera Maya and Tulum were lower in terms of occupancy than Cozumel due to the issue of macroalgae, which was unprecedented,” he shared.

Santos also pointed to matters surrounding Tulum, which resulted in a rating drop of 4 percent, affecting occupancy rates. However, without a doubt, he said one of the most significant concerns that affected tourism during 2025 was the economic uncertainty of the U.S. government.

“When this type of situation arises, people from that country don’t travel.” On the other hand, Canadian tourism to the Mexican Caribbean increased by 7 percent during 2025, he said.

Santos reported that due to issues in the U.S., the Canadian market opted for the Mexican Caribbean as a travel destination. Across the country, Mexico recorded an 11 percent increase in Canadians arriving by air during 2025.

It is during 2026 that the recovery of tourism in the Cancun, Riviera Maya regions is expected.

Quintana Roo State Secretary of Tourism, Bernardo Cueto, acknowledged that the challenge is no longer only about attracting visitors, but ensuring money spent on promotions translates into real benefits.

Cueto said that last year, the state made a decision to earmark the highest amount ever set aside for tourism promotion which is one billion pesos. He acknowledged that global competition is more fierce than ever.

“We are not the only destination in the world. There are countries investing, opening new tourist routes and vying for millions of travelers. The competition is fierce,” he admitted.

More than 68 percent of Quintana Roo’s visitors come from abroad, he noted. So armed conflicts, economic tensions and the global aviation crisis, which limited airline growth due to a shortage of aircraft, all played key roles in the decline of visitors to Cancun and Riviera Maya during 2025.

He also pointed out that Quintana Roo faces a paradox where tourism supply is growing faster than demand.

Each year, more tour operators, hotels, online lodging options and entertainment companies are added to the market. He said this has made it necessary to strengthen the strategy to avoid unbalanced saturation.

“We are growing more every day and demand must keep pace with that growth,” he said.

Cuerto said that as part of the solution, the Tourism Advisory Council was created to address such challenges. The Council includes representatives from the business, academic, social and environmental sectors, not only government.

“The decisions aren’t made by the secretary or the governor,” he said “They’re made collectively. We see a complicated situation at the international level of rmed conflicts, economic issues, multilateral and bilateral pressures,” he noted adding that the state must remain vigilant in responding to changes.

Javier Carlos Olvera Silveira, President of the Caribbean Business Coordinating Council (CCE), called 2025 a “challenging” year, particularly for the tourism sector.

“It was a challenging year. The external conditions haven’t created a very favorable environment. It’s a matter of international politics,” he said. According to Silveria, one of the most most relevant factors for businesses was the weakness of the U.S. dollar against the peso. He said that difference reduced the real income of hotels and tourist service providers.

Another challenge has been the construction of new hotels which has put additional pressure on occupancy rates, creating an imbalance between supply and demand. Silveria says he remains confident that the state will show stability during 2026.