Destination Analysis: Mexico
Mexico is one of the most visited countries in the world. The main secret of Mexico tourism success is that there are actually two Mexico. One is the magnificent beaches, surfing and diving places, amusement parks and foot tapping discos. And the other Mexico is famous for its many ancient monuments, directly connected with the mysterious Mayan civilization that has been dissolved for centuries.
2013 year is the peak one when the largest number of Russian tourist arrived in Mexico (100,6 thousand tourists). In 2014, 77,5 thousand Russian citizens arrived in the country. It was provided by the charter programs of Russian tour operators. The next two years showed a significant decline in the Russian tourist flow to this country, connected both with economic crisis in Russia and cancellation of Transaero airline’s direct charter flights to Mexico due to the bankruptcy of the company.
The growth of tourist flow to Mexico began only in 2017, when in the winter season of 2017–2018 several Russian tour operators have launched direct charters in Cancun. These were Anex Tour with Azur Air and Pegas Touristik with NordWind. A direct charter flight to Mexico takes about 13 hours. The players were satisfied with the results of the Mexican programs – the flights had one hundred percent of loading.
In the winter season 2018–2019 Anex and Pegas will continue their charter programs in Mexico. In addition, another tour operator - Coral Travel – has appeared on the destination. The Coral Travel flight program to Mexico on the new Royal Flight’s boards (Boeing 777-300) is planned from Moscow (Sheremetyevo) to Cancun from October 18, 2019 to May 15, 2020.
As before, Intourist, Pac Group, Ics Travel Group, Paks, Russian Express, Kmp Group, Spectrum and several other operators offer Mexico programs on scheduled flights. The official statistics of Mexico informs that from January to June 2018, 25,632 citizens of the Russian Federation visited Mexico, which is 108% more than the same period last year. Most of them arrived in the country through Cancun International Airport. To travel to Mexico, citizens of the Russian Federation need an electronic visa. The classification of Mexican hotels is not much different from the international standards: stars are assigned according to the same rules. The bulk of 4*-5* resorts are modern large hotel complexes with several service concepts, a large number of restaurants, swimming pools, rich entertainment infrastructure, shops and a high level of service.
The most popular type of meals for Russian tourists is an all-inclusive system, which is widespread at the resorts of the Caribbean coast of this country. The main reason to choose this particular concept of holiday is its richness and completeness. In many good 5* hotels of Mexico you have not only the opportunity to eat in 5-10 restaurants of the hotels (with both buffet style and à la carte) and to use all segments of infrastructure, but also a round-the-clock room service.
Is it comfortable to relax in Mexican hotels with children? The answer is yes. Moreover, you can and should go to Mexico with your children. This is a better and more interesting beach-animation holiday than, for example, in Turkey. Most 4*-5* hotels have not only children's pools and areas in water parks, but also full-fledged mini-clubs for children. As a rule, you can leave child in mini-club from 3 or 4 years old and up to 12 years old. In some hotels, a kids' club is a whole two-story “city” that has everything from space labyrinths and a rope park to kinetic games and trampolines.
The most popular destination in Mexico among Russians is the Yucatan Peninsula in the south-east of the country, washed by the Caribbean Sea. Tours there in autumn and winter periods are requested by almost 60% of all Russians who interested in holidays in the country. The matter is that the Caribbean coast of Mexico is protected by coral reefs, so there are beaches without waves, the best of them are covered with white sand and palm trees - a real paradise for swimmers and diving lovers. In addition, in Yucatan you can combine a beach holiday with a sightseeing one, because the world-famous ruins of the ancient Mayan cities located here: Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Tulum, Palenque, Ek Balam. The minimum cost of excursions is $ 100 per person. On average, tourists spend about $ 500.
The climate at the resorts of the Yucatan Peninsula is tropical, but myths about the “terrible heat” are not a truth. All year round the air temperature here is at approximately the same level - 28-29 degrees Celsius in the winter and up to 31-32 - in the summer. The sea is also warm year-round (in winter - 26-28 degrees Celsius, in summer - 29). And the west coast of Mexico, washed by the Pacific Ocean, has been chosen by surf lovers. There are strong currents from its southern part, so there are excellent waves here almost all year round. Experts express an optimistic forecast for the Mexican destination: "Mexico is in high demand among tourists: this is provided by a large selection of 4* –5* hotels (operating on All Inclusive basis and located on the first line), a wide excursion program and world-class attractions," Pegas Touristik notes. “Last year's sales showed that demand for Mexico is quite high. The country offers a quality product at an affordable price. And the possibility of a charter flight in business and economy class allows you to cover different client segments. The demand is high, the sales are stable,” underlines Anex Tour.
