Los Cabos promotes sun and safety
Ian Stalker
Los Cabos is inviting tourists to return to the Baja California Sur destination for vacations that it says will be both sun-drenched and safe.
Rodrigo Esponda, managing director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, told a recent Toronto gathering that 85% of residents of the state of Baja California Sur are now vaccinated against coronavirus and the jurisdiction implemented guidelines on the likes of hotel and restaurant capacity that has enabled it to safely restart tourism in a part of the world known for dry, sunny weather.
“The situation is totally under control,” he said. “We’re not looking to offer a discounted risk experience. We’re looking to offer a high-quality safe experience.
“Our objective is to position Los Cabos as the best and safest place to travel.”
Area hotels and restaurants are open and can now operate at a maximum of 80% capacity, an increase from earlier days during the pandemic.
Visitors don’t need to quarantine upon arrival and PRC testing is available at numerous spots and costs $115 to $200, depending on where the testing is done and how quickly the results are needed.
Tourism authorities say a recovery is underway, with Los Cabos seeing nearly 118,000 international arrivals in September, its most successful September ever, with international arrivals 40% higher than they were in 2019.
The Canadian market is expected to recover strongly as well in the wake of confirmed connectivity from the likes of Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Victoria, and Kelowna among others, and added airlines — such as Swoop, OWG and Flair — deciding to serve the destination.
Los Cabos remains one of the newer tourism jurisdictions in Mexico and has some 18,000 hotel rooms in 85 hotels.
Hotels average around 200 rooms in a part of the world where no buildings are over five stories in height and there are no billboards.
Esponda described San Jose del Cabo as a traditional Mexican town, while nearby Cabo San Lucas is livelier.
He added that Baja California Sur is committed to protecting its environment, with 42% of the state being protected in a part of the world that no longer provides plastic straws and supermarkets no longer hand out plastic bags.
The bordering Sea of Cortes is home to 30% of the world’s marine animal species, with ocean waters seeing the likes of whales, sharks and dolphins.
Twenty-two area beaches have Blue Flag certification.
The region has 18 golf courses, with golf available year-round.
Many flight operators have scheduled direct flights between Canada and Los Cabos for the Fall/Winter Season:
- Air Canada – Regular flights, started in September
- WestJet – Regular flights started in September
- Sunwing – Regular flights will start in November
- Swoop – Regular flights start in November
- OWG – Starting in March 2022
More information is available at https://www.visitloscabos.travel/.
