Quintana Roo's state governor, Carlos Joaquín González, has cited tourism as an essential business in his state-home to popular destinations like Cancún and the Riviera Maya-and is pushing for Mexico's federal government to classify it as such in order to reopen to inbound travelers sooner rather than later.
According to Mexico News Daily, González had previously announced that Quintana Roo's hotels and resorts, including those in tourist-favorite areas like Cancún, Cozumel and Tulum, would reopen on June 1.
He was later forced to rescind that statement, however, in light of the state's continuingly considerable levels of COVID-19 contagion. As of May 20, Quintana Roo had reported 1,392 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 271 deaths.
In a May 20 virtual meeting with the National Conference of Governors and National Tourist Business Council, González stated that roughly 80,000 jobs have been lost in Quintana Roo as a result of the pandemic and argued that allowing tourism back into the state would spark a much-needed economic recovery.
Still, González is advising area hotels to prepare themselves internally for an imminent reopening date, with hopeful optimism that they'll receive the green light from national authorities as early as June 8 or 10.
In an overall capacity, the Mexican Secretariat of Tourism (SECTUR) is getting ready to release its phased reopening plan for the country sometime next week.
The agency is also still in the process of setting new health and safety standards that will apply to tourists and businesses, which will require approval from the Ministry of Health, as well as local governments.
Despite the federal red tape that's still in development, González reportedly stated that over 1,600 companies have already registered for the required training to obtain a health certificate from the state government, which they expect will allay visitors' concerns about contracting the coronavirus.
"The main objective is for businesses to be prepared to return to activities on a still unspecified date in June," Tourism Minister Marisol Vanegas Pérez said on May 19. In the meantime, the governor is urging residents to diligently continue to observe social-distancing guidelines and other preventive measures so that the state may reopen as anticipated.
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