Cancun to Levy Tax on Visitors All Over Again

Cancun, the Mexican Caribbean resort, has long been one of the most popular destinations in the hemisphere and is currently undergoing significant changes for travelers.

All visitors to Cancun must now pay a tax of $18.80 per person, which as of this month is mandatory for all non-resident travelers landing at Cancun International Airport.

Quintana Roo, a Mexican Caribbean state, will use the new levy to pay for infrastructure improvements. The company has now chosen Travelkore, a Canadian company, to assist with the tax collection. Since tourists cannot pay cash on arrival, all visitors can now pay the tax directly through the Travelkore platform.

In April 2021, the first VISITAX went into effect, at a cost of $11 per person. Travel advisors will be able to charge a small commission for payment through Travelkore if they handle tax processing for their clients. For entering an agency commission "of whatever they see fit," advisors will receive a link created exclusively for travel agents, according to Scurry, who spoke with TMR.

Travelkore will then provide advisors with a monthly transaction report that they can use to create an invoice to forward to the company for payment. There is also a Travelkore link for travelers available to all visitors to the country, who can use it to prepay their own tourist tax.

Tax payments can be processed in a single transaction by groups of up to ten people. Scurry says Travelkore's platform will integrate with several OTAs and GDSs, including Amadeus. All visitors to Quintana Roo must pay the tax, except those entering by land through the southern border.