Yucatán could close out 2026 with more than MX$2 billion (about US$118 million) in tourism revenue during the year’s final four months, state officials say — but the boost is expected to come from conventions and big events rather than from a rebound in everyday visitor traffic.
Darío Flota Ocampo, head of the state’s Secretaría de Fomento Turístico (Sefotur), said 38 trade shows, conventions and meetings are scheduled between September and December, with an estimated 41,000 attendees. That segment alone could generate around MX$1.3 billion (about US$77 million) in hotel, restaurant, transportation and retail spending, he said. During the first seven months of the year, the state hosted 108 such gatherings with roughly 37,000 participants.
Planned events for the rest of the year include psychology and gastroenterology conferences, a NASCAR semifinal in October, a possible exhibition match between soccer clubs América and Cruz Azul, and the World Brahman Congress, set to take place alongside the Feria Yucatán Xmatkuil, the state’s annual fair.
The push for bigger events comes after a sluggish first half of the year. Yucatán received 1.52 million overnight visitors between January and July, down 1.6% from the same period in 2025 — a drop of about 25,000 travelers. The decline was concentrated in domestic tourism, which fell 2.7% to 1.19 million visitors. International arrivals, by contrast, grew 2.6% to 330,000, with the U.S. accounting for 16.4% of all visitors, Europe 14.2%, South America 5.9% and Canada 3.9%.
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Hotels felt the slowdown too. Juan José Martín Pacheco, president of the Yucatán hotel association, said July occupancy came in at 53%, 14 percentage points below the same month in 2025 — a decline that follows a disappointing stretch tied to the 2026 World Cup earlier in the summer. Room supply also grew more slowly than in past years, with three additional hotels and roughly 400 new rooms added by July.
Flota Ocampo said 58.6% of visitors to Yucatán are first-timers, and the average stay runs 5.8 days. Tourism accounts for about 16.1% of the state’s economy, putting Yucatán third nationally behind Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur for the sector’s share of local GDP, with hotels and restaurants employing close to 10% of the state’s workforce.
To offset the softer domestic numbers, Sefotur plans to ramp up international marketing, with a particular focus on Colombia, Brazil, Canada, the U.S. and Italy. The state currently has 13 domestic and nine international flight routes, and officials hope to add capacity to Canada and the U.S. in the coming months, restore a Guatemala City-Mérida route and add new service from Toronto, including a weekly cargo flight starting in December.
Between September and December, the state plans eight international and 12 domestic promotional pushes, with stops planned in Monterrey, Guadalajara, León, Querétaro, Houston and Dallas — part of a broader bet that conventions and international visitors can make up for a softer year in the domestic market.
Fast NASCAR Facts
Projected Q4 tourism revenue: more than MX$2 billion (about US$118 million)
Convention and meeting attendees expected: 41,000 across 38 events
Jan.–July overnight visitors: 1.52 million, down 1.6% year over year
International visitor growth: up 2.6%, to 330,000
Mérida-area hotel occupancy in July: 53%, down 14 points from 2025
Tourism’s share of Yucatán’s economy: about 16.1%
With reporting from Por Esto!
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