Mexicans’ Favorite Beaches Beyond Cancun: Discover Top Picks

When it comes to beach destinations in Mexico, Playacar, situated in the state of Quintana Roo, boasts a hotel occupancy rate of 89%.

Mexican beach-goers are expanding their horizons beyond just Cancun. Other destinations are gaining popularity, as evidenced by recent hotel occupancy data. Playacar, located in Quintana Roo, leads the way with an impressive 89% occupancy rate. Akumal, a beach in Yucatan, follows closely with an 81.6% occupancy rate for the period of January to July 2024, according to the Secretary of Tourism (Sectur). Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur ranks third with 80.3%, and Nuevo Nayarit is fourth with 80.2%. Cancun, traditionally a favorite, comes in fifth with a 77.2% occupancy rate, followed by Puerto Vallarta at 73.9%.

Sectur's head, Miguel Torruco, reported that from January to July this year, cities registered 27.6 million tourists in hotel rooms, while beach centers welcomed 21.3 million tourists. During this period, hotel occupancy reached 60.2% across all monitored centers. City destinations recorded a 52.8% occupancy rate, a slight increase of 0.7% from the same period in 2023. Beach centers, however, had a higher occupancy level of 68.3%.

In the first seven months of this year, the average number of occupied rooms reached 263,234 units, a slight increase from the same period last year. For beach centers, there were 141,519 average occupied rooms. In city destinations, the number of occupied rooms was 121,715, a 1.9% increase over the same period in 2023. From January to July 2024, the average number of available rooms reached 437,396 units, also a slight increase from the previous year.

Torruco Marqués emphasized the importance of hotels as the backbone of the tourism industry. From 2019 to 2023, there were 87,000 new hotel rooms in the country, bringing the total to 895,000 rooms. This number is expected to exceed 900 rooms in 25,000 lodging establishments this year, further solidifying Mexico's seventh-place global position in hotel infrastructure.

Top Mexican Beach Destinations by Hotel Occupancy (January-July 2024)

• Playacar 89.0%
• Akumal 81.6%
• Cabo San Lucas 80.3%
• Nuevo Nayarit 80.2%
• Cancún 77.2%
• Puerto Vallarta 73.9%

Source: Secretary of Tourism (Sectur)