Hotels and Hospitals Join Forces to Reactivate Tourism Sector

Authorities of the state of Quintana Roo announced the opening of the Mexican Caribbean on June 8. The reopening was not homogeneous but based on the epidemiological status of each municipality. Before June 8, the state Governor Carlos Joaquín reported municipalities would go through a stage of internal preparation and implementation of health protocols. Likewise, Joaquín stressed on his official networks that the reactivation process is "gradual and with strict sanitary measures."

The epidemiological traffic light managing the “Reactivate Quintana Roo” program indicates different states for the regions that make up the state of Quintana Roo. The municipalities of the southern zone Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Jose Maria Morelos, Bacalar and Othon P. Blanco are at the highest level of contagion, while the northern zone that includes Tulum, Solidaridad, Cozumel, Puerto Morelos, Benito Juarez, Lazaro Cardenas and Isla Mujeres are in orange.

The World Travel and Tourism Council and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) granted the Global Security Seal to Cancun and the Mexican Caribbean, thus becoming the first destination on the American Continent to receive this certification. Today, only four other destinations worldwide have this certificate.

However, this complicated situation for some is a great opportunity. Carlos Arceo, President of the Industrial Council for Medical Tourism, believes that alliances between hoteliers and hospitals will be key to reviving the economic sector dedicated to tourism. "Hoteliers have seen the opportunity to partner with hospital institutions, such as Médica Sur and Holiday Inn." Arceo considered that “investment in this type of complexes constitutes the best option for investment in medical tourism in a post-pandemic scenario,” explained in the framework of the Virtual Summit to Recover Tourism.

Medical tourism in 2019 left an economic spill of US$23 billion for the country according to data from the Mexican Council of the Medical Tourism Industry AC (CMITM) and positioned Mexico as the second most important country for medical tourism in the world, just below Thailand. In addition, Quintana Roo and the Riviera Maya are among the states with the greatest potential in the sector, along with Baja California and Tamaulipas.

Hotels have not been the only ones affected during the pandemic. Airbnb announced that 2020 would be its debut on the stock market with a valuation at over US$50 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal note. However, the COVID-19 pandemic took the company on an unexpected turn. With the travel industry virtually paralyzed globally, losses for the vacation rental giant are estimated at US$1 billion in the first half of the year. Therefore, Jean Paul Pelletier, Finance Coordinator of the Tourism Promotion Council, explained at the Virtual Summit for the Recovery of Tourism that digital platforms such as Airbnb will have the great challenge of monitoring the implementation of sanitary measures. Otherwise, they would face a permanent shutdown.