Quintana Roo’s newly appointed Tourism Secretary, Bernardo Cueto Riestra, said the state is looking into ways to streamline border control processes at Cancun International Airport.
Cueto said his office is working with immigration, customs, and security agencies, as well as the airport’s managing company, ASUR, to address different entry issues.
The secretary agrees that better coordination between the government of Quintana Roo and the many authorities operating at the Cancun International Airport is required to improve passenger service.
After all, Mexico is on its way to becoming the world’s most visited country, with Cancun operating as the second busiest airport worldwide.
“We make a lot of effort to attract visitors, and that is why once they are here, it is our priority to make them feel good from the moment they arrive at the airport with prompt attention,” Cueto said.
In order to “streamline” solutions, the Tourism Secretary met with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs General Director Jimena Escobedo Juarez in Cancun last week to discuss a number of challenges the International Airport is facing, particularly those linked to simplifying immigration processes.
“We are going to support each other with assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advance these processes and other airport operation issues. What is intended is to avoid the bottlenecks with the arrival of tourists,” Cueto stated.
An issue that was not addressed in the meeting is the fact that an increasing number of visitors to Mexico are no longer granted a 180-day entry stamp.
In the last few months, travelers have reported they are only allowed 30 days in Mexico, and sometimes even less.
According to the Mexican National Immigration Institute (INM), visitors are permitted to stay in the country for up to 180 days for tourism or business purposes.
But it seems that the final decision is all in the hands of border control agents.
Other concerns that Quintana Roo, home to Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, must face include a surge in criminal attacks against international visitors and hospitality employees.
Thus far, nothing concrete has been said about any of these issues.