Cancun hotels receive first guests after virus closure

Mexico's Caribbean coast resorts of Cancun and the Riviera Maya welcomed their first tourists on Monday after more than two months of being shut. The few dozen tourists who showed up Monday at the 41 hotels that are partly reopened are a mere symbolic trickle compared to the 23 million that crowded the coast last year, bringing with them 15 billion US dollars to the local economy.

Gibran Chapur, the vice-president of the Palace resort chain, said his company welcomed about 300 tourists on the first day, 70% of them from the United States. Chapur said the Palace resorts were already receiving a lot of reservations for July and November, and that many were eager to get out of lockdown and enjoy the outside world again.

Tourism accounts for about half of all economic activity in the coastal state of Quintana Roo, with its more than 100,000 rooms are usually almost at full occupancy. To date, the state has had about 2,235 coronavirus cases and 427 deaths. Chapur said some things will change due to the virus, like disinfecting all luggage and shoes; buffets and paper menus at the resorts' restaurants are probably a thing of the past.