In order to offer visitors more sun time in the winter months, the Mexican state of Quintana Roo is officially changing time zones from Central Standard Time (CST) to Eastern Standard Time (EST).
The change, which was green lighted by the Mexican government on December 4, 2014 after two years of efforts by the state government and several Cancun hotel owners, comes into effect on February 1, 2015.
“Cancun is excited to welcome this time change, which will allow our visitors to take advantage of one more hour in our beautiful destination,” said Jesus Almaguer, CEO of the Cancun CVB. “The added sunlight should also generate reductions in electricity use for hotels and restaurants in the area, which aligns with Cancun’s turquoise conservation initiative.”
This change aligns Cancun with other destinations in the Caribbean including the Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica. It also results in improved air connectivity to Canada and the U.S. as the destination will now be in the same time zone as eight Canadian airports and 22 U.S. airports.
Cancun hoteliers and service providers say the time change will bring economic benefits to the area as visitors will have another daylight hour to spend on the beaches and expeditions as well as in in restaurants, cafes and parks.
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