Canadian Flights Lift Tulum Hotel Occupancy Forecast Above 80 Percent for High Season

Municipal tourism officials expect Tulum hotel occupancy to climb above 80 percent this high season, as Canadian winter flights arrive at Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport, which now receives seven flights a day.

Four of those daily arrivals are international, and three are domestic, according to Haide Hernández Pastrana, general director of tourism for the municipality of Tulum. She credited Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet with much of the traffic from Canada, where travelers are looking for warm destinations as temperatures fall across North America. The airport opened in December 2023.

The forecast covers November and December, the opening stretch of the winter season, and follows a slower year for the destination. Hotel occupancy in Tulum averaged 63.7 percent in the first seven months of 2026, compared with 72.7 percent in the same period of 2025, according to the Quintana Roo Tourism Secretariat. A season above 80 percent would put Tulum well past that average.

Canadian visitors are already turning up at local festivals

Hernández Pastrana said the effect of the Canadian arrivals is starting to show outside the hotels. Foreign visitors have been attending cultural and food events in recent weeks, she said, including the Hanal Pixán observances held in the coastal zone and the Parrillero Festival.

Hanal Pixán, which means "food of the souls" in Yucatec Maya, is the region's observance of the Day of the Dead.

How officials plan to lift Tulum hotel occupancy past 80 percent

Business owners and government officials are working together on preparations for the November and December rush, the director said. Their tools include promotional campaigns and improvements to the destination under Tulum Renace, a program aimed at strengthening economic activity and bringing occupancy back up.

A market at CADVI for Maya artisans

Part of the plan targets Maya producers rather than hotels. Hernández Pastrana said new exhibition and sales spaces are being promoted for artisans from Maya communities, and that a market will open at the CADVI, in coordination with the ICA, where producers will be able to sell their crafts directly to visitors.

A separate effort would certify traditional artisans and cooks so they can join community tourism routes. The director said the goal is to widen their sources of income.

Traditional cooking festival comes to Jaguar Park November 21 and 22

The next scheduled event is a traditional cooking festival on November 21 and 22 at Jaguar Park, the national park that surrounds the Tulum archaeological zone. Cooks representing Tulum and other communities in Quintana Roo are expected to take part, and a new artisan market is planned to open during the festival.

Officials describe both as part of a single strategy: connecting incoming visitors with local products and directing more of the season's spending to Maya communities.

For the artisans and cooks that strategy is meant to benefit, the first test comes on Saturday, November 21, when the festival opens at Jaguar Park.

Are you planning a winter trip to Tulum, or will you stop by the Jaguar Park cooking festival this month? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.