Cancún Restaurant Sector Welcomes Extended Hours in Hotel Zone

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The Benito Juárez City Council’s recent decision to extend operating hours for bars and restaurants in Cancún’s hotel zone has been warmly received by the local restaurant industry, which now hopes the change will eventually reach the city’s downtown, according to the president of the local Canirac chapter, Perla Flores Navarro.

“The economic revival of the destination is something we are all very interested in, which is why we view the extension of hours very favorably,” she said. Under the new rules, restaurants and bars in the tourist zone may stay open until 5 a.m.

Flores Navarro explained that extending the measure to downtown responds to the industry’s operational needs, since restaurants begin their closing procedures almost an hour before the legal limit, significantly reducing their effective sales.

She noted that in the urban area the extension would be unlikely to reach 5 a.m., as it does in the tourist strip, but that operating longer would bring essential relief to local businesses and strengthen the city’s nightlife offering.

“We have been notified, since it has gone through the City Council, and we are waiting for it to be made official through the Official Gazette. That is why we remain at the dialogue tables, but we consider it a good measure to allow more extensive operation in the hotel zone,” she added.

Eric Mafasanti, director of the La Palapita restaurant group and a restaurant industry vice president, agreed on the significance of the decision, saying that reactivating nightlife venues is expected to generate economic activity that will benefit restaurants in turn.

“Look, the truth is I think it is a measure that is, on one hand, very positive for the economic spillover, but on the other hand there are sectors that see it as controversial because of the security issue. So there we have to find the middle ground and understand that, since we are a tourist destination, the fact that you couldn’t stay in a bar or a disco at three or two in the morning did generate some frustration among guests,” he said.

However, he warned that applying the rule only in the tourist strip creates a competitive disadvantage for downtown, and he urged the creation of regulatory mechanisms that guarantee commercial fairness and safeguard urban security for everyone.