
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:30 AM ET, Tue January 12, 2021
As part of an effort to protect hotel employees and travelers, the Cancun Hotel Association has placed two bids to purchase vaccines for their tourist service providers.
According to the Riviera Maya News, a Cancun Hotel Association spokesperson said it has reached out to both AztraSeneca in Mexico and Pfizer in the United States about buying the coronavirus vaccine to be delivered before September.
Officials in the hotel industry are looking to purchase 500,000 doses at around $40 each.
"We made contact with two laboratories, one in the United States and the other here in Mexico, to acquire the vaccines for the private sector," the Cancun Hotel Association told the Riviera Maya News.
"This would mean the personnel who have direct contact with visitors are shielded," the statement continued. "The production of vaccines is what slows down the process of obtaining them, however, they could be ready for this year."
The Cancun Hotel Association said the order would protect 250,000 tourist service providers by providing them with the necessary two doses of the vaccine. The Quintana Roo Secretary of Tourism said there are more than 450,000 people who work in the region's tourism industry.
Earlier this week, tourism officials revealed that initial estimates showed nearly one million travelers arrived in Quintana Roo during the recent Winter Holiday period.
In addition, government officials in Quintana Roo announced foreign tourists arriving in the region would be required to pay a $10 fee, beginning on April 1.
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