Cancun Quintana Roo. The new requirement of a physical visa for Brazilian citizens has begun to affect the arrival of tourists of that nationality to Quintana Roo, where millionaire losses are reported since groups of Brazilian travelers have canceled their arrival in the state due to lack of time. to process the new document.
“They have already hit us very hard, there are a significant amount of losses due to the events that were canceled,” said Darío Flota, director of the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council (CPTQ), during the start of the 28th edition of the Congress. National Meetings Industry.
Flota said that this has led the Brazilian airline GOL to plan to reduce its frequencies to Cancun, which could go from five weekly flights to just three.
For Brazilian citizens, appointments to process a visa to visit Mexico can take about a month, leaving little time for travelers, who were notified of the requirement last week.
For tourism in Quintana Roo, which has crucial destinations for the international segment such as Cancun and Cozumel, the measure has represented a stumbling block in a trend of recovery of Brazilian tourists, who account for 1.5% of the total tourism that visits the state.
According to Fleet, the cancellation of the arrival of 2,000 people has been reported, which in the case of a particular agency, for example, represented a direct loss of 800,000 dollars and more than 5 million dollars taking into account the total loss.
“The tour operators spoke to us, and they tell us ‘I have a congress or an incentive and I can’t get there,’ and the hotels that also have cancellations,” said Flota.
The visa requirement ended with an agreement between Brazil and Mexico reached in 2000, with which the request for the document was stopped as of 2004. Until now, Brazilians only had to register electronically in the Electronic Authorization System ( SAE) to enter Mexico, but as of August 18 they will need to present a physical visa, printed in their passport.
