Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Two weeks before the 2026 World Cup kicks off, hotel reservations in the Riviera Maya have collapsed, dashing expectations that the tournament would bring a tourism boom to the Mexican Caribbean.
Lenin Amaro Betancourt, president of the Tourism Commission and coordinator of the southeast region for the National Association of Regional Business Councils (Ancer), warned that the event is not delivering the anticipated impact.
“With the football festival approaching, reservations are not what we expected. Going from 90% occupancy to 50% compared to previous years during this season makes it clear that the 2026 World Cup alone will not solve the destination’s problems,” he said.
The situation is worsened by the uncontrolled arrival of sargassum seaweed on Caribbean beaches, which has overwhelmed government mitigation efforts. The lack of parallel activities such as public Fan Fests or large gathering areas also limits the ability to keep international travelers beyond luxury resorts like Mayakoba, where Uruguay’s national team will stay.
National and international slowdown
The slowdown is not limited to Quintana Roo. Mexico’s National Association of Hotel Chains reported that initial projections of over 80% occupancy nationwide have been revised down to a moderate 60% to 65%. Of that, only about 20% is expected to come from fans traveling specifically for the FIFA tournament.
Internationally, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) reported that 80% of hotels in U.S. host cities are seeing lower-than-projected bookings. Industry leaders attribute the sluggish demand to three key factors:
- Soaring airfare and accommodation costs.
- Immigration hurdles and visa delays for international markets.
- The mass release of rooms previously blocked by FIFA, which created a false impression of high demand.
Despite the bleak outlook, Amaro Betancourt expressed cautious optimism, predicting a last-minute surge in reservations, mainly in Mexico’s official host cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
