Quintana Roo’s Inclusive Tourism Challenge

Cancún, Mexico — The majority of municipalities in Quintana Roo are experiencing a lag in tourism infrastructure for people with disabilities, with only four or five of the state's eleven municipalities featuring these characteristics in streets and hotels with inclusive infrastructure.

According to data from INEGI, there are 240,000 people with some form of disability across the entire state; the municipality of Benito Juárez alone accounts for more than 50 percent of this figure. However, there are no exact figures for how many tourists with physical disabilities arrive at the destinations of the Mexican Caribbean each year.

How This Situation Affects Inclusive Tourism

It is estimated that the Mexican Caribbean received more than six thousand travelers with disabilities in 2024, and approximately 15 thousand tourists with a disability are estimated to arrive in Quintana Roo annually. Inclusive tourism in the region is growing, though it still faces infrastructure challenges.

Ricardo Velásquez Prudente, an advisor on inclusion issues for the State Government, indicated that, precisely with the creation of the State Institute for Disability Care, a census will be conducted among tourism businesses that serve this segment in order to obtain real figures on the subject.

“Governor Mara Lezama indicated that we must have accessible destinations for both the population and for visitors who have this condition,” he stated.

Why It Is Important and What Actions Are Being Taken

He recalled that Cancún has Las Perlas beach as the first with inclusive infrastructure, but the goal is for all municipalities to have a beach accessible for people with disabilities. Playa del Carmen already has at least two, and Isla Mujeres is working on conditioning three beaches with these characteristics.

“They have wooden ramps so they can access the sandy areas, and the restrooms also have fixtures for use by people in wheelchairs,” he explained.

Furthermore, this type of infrastructure is required in the central areas of each city, so that people with a physical disability can have greater mobility, but above all, safety.

“Unfortunately, only half of the municipalities in Quintana Roo have this type of infrastructure, which is why we are working with the others so that, little by little, they begin to implement some actions,” he affirmed.