March will have two long weekends in which thousands of elementary school students -from preschool to high school- can enjoy a couple of long weekends with their families. Due to the days off, the main tourist destinations in Mexico will have a higher hotel occupancy rate than in other seasons.
The first “mega-holiday” is scheduled for Friday, March 17, due to the administrative discharge stipulated by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), in which teachers will conduct student evaluations. Thus, it will be combined with Saturday 18, Sunday 19, and Monday 20 due to Benito Juarez’s birthday, which, although commemorated on March 21, will occur one day earlier.
This four-day rest period is followed by the School Technical Council (CTE) meeting, which will be held on Friday, the 31, so classes will be suspended. However, children will not return to the classroom on Monday, April 3, since Easter vacation begins on that day.
Main tourist destinations
Regarding the first long weekend of March (from the 17th to the 20th), the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) announced which Mexican tourist destinations will have the highest hotel occupancy. Most involve beaches or cities where various recreational activities can be enjoyed.
Puerto Vallarta -located in the state of Jalisco- will be where most tourists will arrive, as hotel occupancy is expected to be 88.6%. This site with access to the sea is followed by other cities with beaches, such as Los Cabos (Baja California Sur), Cancun (Quintana Roo), and Acapulco (Guerrero), where the expected average is 85.2, 83.5 and 81.1%, respectively.
Just as some enjoy humid or semi-tropical environments, some go for cycling adventures in the countryside, and some prefer to venture into small cities with colonial architecture. Such is the case of Aguascalientes, where hotel occupancy is 76%.
The rest of the destinations where more domestic and foreign tourists will arrive are Queretaro (74%), Mexico City (71.4%); San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato (69.3%), Puebla (67.6%), Villahermosa, Tabasco (53.3%), San Cristobal de las Casas (49.6%) and Tuxtla Gutierrez (44.4%), both located in Chiapas.
Economic spillover
The Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco Marqués, informed that from March 17 to 20 of this year, an economic revenue of 45 thousand 578 million pesos (MDP) is expected, thanks to the consumption of tourist services in the places mentioned above. Of this total, approximately 4 thousand 397 million pesos will come from lodging.
One million 523 thousand tourists will arrive at the hotels during these four days, of which close to 325 thousand will be foreigners. According to Sectur, such a figure means a 91.8% recovery concerning the same period in 2019.
Meanwhile, one million 843 thousand domestic tourists will stay in other types of lodging, such as in the homes of family and friends. In addition, it is expected that another 294 thousand people will choose to stay in the so-called “shared or collaborative economies,” such as those offered on digital platforms. Thus, it is estimated that the total number of travelers during this mega-holiday bridge will be 3 million (in 2022 it was 2.7 million).
Because of this holiday long weekend, Torruco Marqués recommended that tourists who will travel the country’s highways follow the recommendations provided by the General Directorate of Tourist Services, Angeles Verdes, in case they require medical assistance or travel advice. To do so, contact can be made by calling the toll-free number 078; or on mobile devices with Android and iOS systems.