Yucatan Tourism Not Affected By Coronavirus

Amidst the prevalence of Coronavirus across the globe, tourism in Yucatan, where the imposingly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site Chichen Itza is located, remains steady, an official said.

In Mexico, there have been two confirmed cases of COVID-19. In Friday, Mexico's Health Department announced the second case of the COVID-19 confirmed in Mexico City. The first one was in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.

Despite the outbreak, director of Economic Development and Tourism for the Yucatan capital city Mérida Eduardo Seijo Solís said there has not been a drop in the number of visitors.in Yucatan, according to an article by Mexicanist. However, the official stressed the state is imposing strict surveillance on the behavior of the virus to prevent it from spreading.

Solís added that tourist arrival in the Yucatan capital has not registered a decrease since 75 percent of the visitors have come from within the country and only 25 percent are foreign.

However, the official commented that the spread of the coronavirus has affected the perception of security of travelers in general, which is one of the main factors in deciding whether one should take a trip or not.

"This is something focused. Obviously, countries that are close to China will be affected more than those that are practically on the other side of the planet," he noted.

According to Solís, in the past, what they can consider the largest impactful public health concern to have hit the region was the spread of H1N1 influenza 15 years ago.

He pointed out, the outbreak had a "dramatic" effect especially on the hotel sector in a short span of time but as the panic ceased, there had been no further negative impact on Merida.

"We hope that the virus (coronavirus) will be a temporary contingency and that it will not have a dramatic effect on our destination... so far we don't have any data on the drop in tourism to the city," he said.

Tourists from the Asian region do not represent the "strongest" group of visitors to Mérida, because 75 to 80 percent are "domestic" tourists and only 20 to 25 percent are international, of which more than half come from North America and the rest from Europe, according to the officer.

The Warm Weather Conditions of Yucatan Peninsula Vs. COVID-19

Researchers, including Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia, UK, believe the new coronavirus will not survive for so long in warmer conditions, according to an article by NewScientist

"One extreme scenario is that it will burn itself out sometime in the summer," Hunter explained. "The other extreme scenario is that it will reduce in the summer but it will come back again in the winter and become what we call endemic, in that it will spread pretty much everywhere."

Located in one of the tropics of the planet earth, the Yucatan Peninsula's ambient temperature hits above 30 degrees, recently emerging from one of the last cold fronts predicted for the 2019-2020 winter season.

This could reportedly benefit its inhabitants amidst the COVID-19 outbreak especially those residing in its key cities Cancun, Merida, Villahermosa, San Francisco de Campeche, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cozumel, Puerto Progreso, Celestun, Ciudad del Carmen, Escarcega, Chetumal, Isla Mujeres and others.

Beginning March, the region's temperature intensifies and peaks April, the time when the Yucatan Peninsula, especially the areas of Merida, Escarcega, and Villahermosa, become the hottest point on the planet registering temperatures of more than 50 degrees Celcius.

As long as the coronavirus does not mutate or become resistant to the temperatures, it will be a matter of time before it weakens due to the immensely hot temperatures.

"In other words, the temperature is going to help us a lot so that this virus does not occur," said the director of Strategic Projects of the Sinaloa Ministry of Tourism, Alfonso Gil Díaz.

In an article by Travel Pulse, Yucatán has maintained its position as the best tourist destination in Mexico, with more than 3.2 million visitors in 2019, exceeding the expected total tourist arrival last year. As Yucatan placed itself among visitors' favorite places in Mexico, its capital city Mérida ranked among the most searched destinations for 2020.