Cancún Launches Catalog of 30 Inclusive Tourism Businesses

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Cancún now has a catalog of 30 inclusive, accessible tourism businesses aimed at capturing the disability travel market in 2027, following a census of local service providers conducted this year.

The survey assessed the physical and operational conditions of hotels, parks, marinas and travel agencies that sell excursions in the Mexican Caribbean destination, with the goal of guaranteeing adequate service for people with disabilities and older adults, said Maru Suárez del Valle, an advisor to the Mexican Association of Women Executives in Tourism Companies (Afeet) in Quintana Roo.

Thirty establishments affiliated with Afeet are already prepared to receive this segment, according to the findings. The review covered facilities and services adapted for travelers with reduced mobility or other special requirements.

A Market With High Purchasing Power

Suárez del Valle said the census examined both the condition of the buildings and the quality of the services on offer.

“It was a census of hotels, parks, marinas and travel agencies that sell excursions, in which we reviewed the facilities and infrastructure as well as the services for tourists with a disability or who are elderly,” she said in an interview about the project.

The specialist said the segment represents a significant commercial opportunity for the region, because visitors with disabilities typically travel with family members or friends, producing a larger economic impact at the destination.

“It is without a doubt a niche with a great opportunity, because a person with a disability travels accompanied by a group of family members or friends, so it is a high-purchasing-power segment that leaves a greater economic spillover in the destination,” she said.

According to Mexico’s federal Tourism Secretariat (Sectur), about 20.8 million people with disabilities live in the country, or 16.5 percent of the national population. Data from the United States cited in the report shows that 25.6 million adults with a disability took 77 million trips over a two-year period, including 25.4 million flights.

Accessibility Still a Work in Progress

Although newer hotel construction already incorporates accessibility standards, the Afeet representative acknowledged that local infrastructure still faces challenges on the issue.

Cancún currently has two inclusive beaches, while the tourism sector continues to push for professional training of guides and upgrades across the tourism value chain, backed by reforms approved by the Congress of the Union in May 2026.