Mexico’s past troubles that include drug violence and disease have not at all deterred visitors to most of the country, including the Riviera Maya. The US remains its largest tourism market with one third of travelers to Mexico coming here.
Located along 81 miles of the Eastern Caribbean coastline in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Riviera Maya broke tourism records last year in greeting more than 3.6 million visitors.
"Despite the challenges Mexico’s tourism has faced in recent years, Riviera Maya continues to appeal to global visitors as one of the world’s top travel destinations, as demonstrated from our record-breaking year in 2011," said Dario Flota Ocampo, general director of the Riviera Maya Destination Marketing Office.
Adding to its appeal as a global hot spot, the bulk of the destination’s tourism is comprised of international visitors (80.8%).
The number of visitors from Europe and South America grew tremendously in 2011, with a 14.4% and 32.7% increase in visitation from each continent respectively.
Despite double-digit growth in emerging international markets, the US still remains Riviera Maya’s largest foreign tourist market, followed by Europe and Canada. Last year, more than 45% of all Canadian tourists visiting Mexico headed to the Rivera Maya region.
By David Wilkening
