Tulum International Airport

In March 2009, the state government of Quintana Roo along with the Federal Government offices of Secretary of Communication and Transport (SCT) had programmed the announcement for the bidding process of a new international airport in Tulum to be constructed and operated in the world popular tourist destination of Riviera Maya. Such a project is expected to have a strong effect upon the Tulum real estate market along with surrounding regional markets including the Playa del Carmen real estate activities.

Riviera Maya is located south of Cancun and includes the cities of Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Felipe Carrillo. Tulum beachfront properties are some of the most sought after real estate not only for investors, but for vacationers. Occupation rates of this entire region have maintained strong figures for the first quarter of 2009. February closed with 90 percent rates in Riviera Maya, while Cancun closed with 89 percent announced by the state tourist office. Both figures closed approximately two points above the results from 2008, in spite of the fact that both destinations had an increase of newly constructed hotel room inventories by more than six thousand units. In anticipation of the higher tourist volumes projected over the next 10 years, the new Mexico airportis being introduced to support the stressed capacity anticipated at the Cancun International Airport. With the construction and operation of the new Tulum airport along with the increased tourist visitors, these factors will stimulate a strong growth of tourist dollar revenues and also the demand for the Tulum homesdestination industries such as those being witnessed in the Playa del Carmen real estate market and the growing Tulum real estate market.

In January of 2009, IPAE released statements to the Mexican news station Enfoque Radio, confirming that all documentation transferring more than 800 hectares to the federal government for the purpose of the Tulum Airport had been executed. The state government plans to maintain control and administration of the properties until the federal government announces the winner for the construction of the new airport. In February of 2009, Gina Patricia Ortiz Blanco, General Director of the Instituto de Patrimonio Inmobiliario del Estado (IPAE), had released to the public the that they anticipated the announcement from the SCT to occur in the first several weeks of March. She also stated that the location of the airport would be approximately 16 kilometers from the coast, in the new municipality of Tulum.

In the first week of March, Luis Téllez Kuenzler, delivered an unexpected resignation of his post as the federal Secretary of Communications and Transport, and in doing so, left several projects awaiting approvals such as the licitations on various infrastructure projects including the construction of new sea ports in Lazaro Cardenas, Tuxpan, Veracruz, and the licitation for the Tulum airport. Juan Molinar Horcaditas is the new secretary taking on these pending responsibilities of this federal office and of the coordination of the pending projects awaiting resolutions.

In June of 2009, after a battered season of extremely low occupancy rates from the swine flu virus scare, the state government has been placing close attention on infrastructure projects throughout the state. On several speeches and meetings, the governor of the state of Quintana Roo has asked to fast track the Airport project along with a project for beach recuperation in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. Such projects will create some economic activity during the summer and fall months until the next high season for tourism in the winter and spring of 2010.