Cancun is welcoming back tourists in June by offering free hotel stays

Cancun, the holiday hotspot on Mexico’s Atlantic Coast, has announced it's offering free hotel stays, meals, hire cars and theme park entry in a new campaign designed to bring tourists back to the Central American nation.

Currently, Mexico has 81,400 confirmed cases of coronavirus and has seen 9,044 deaths - but it plans to reopen its hotels and restaurants along the Maya Riviera tourist area from June 8.

Cancun’s initiative, which involves over 200 businesses, will be launched on June 15.

The campaign offers free stays for up to two children when two adults book, or two nights for free for every two nights booked - the latter has also been extended to those looking to hire cars. For example, if you book a hotel for two nights, you will get the second two nights free, same with car hire.

The campaign is said to stretch to theme park entry, as well as golf and spa services, too which will offer 20 per cent discounts on services and some restaurants will also offer deals for tourists.

President of the Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres Hotels Association, Roberto Cintron, said: “It’s designed to reactivate holidays to our destinations after the crisis caused by Covid-19.”

The resorts of Tulum, Puerto Morelos and the island of Isla Mujeres are expected to take part as well.

Mexico is one of the top 10 countries in the world for tourism, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council and Quintana Roo, the Caribbean side of Mexico, is essential to the tourism economy, with 110,000 hotel rooms and 22.8 million visitors in 2019. The area is a source of nearly 80,000 tourism jobs.

The governor of Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquín González, said after the area announced it would reopen tourism on June 8, about 40 to 50 hotel reservations immediately followed, a result he called ‘encouraging’.