Cancun History

Cancun is located in the state of Quintana Roo and has a short existence; it was founded only 36 years ago. The name of Cancun has a disputed meaning: some say it means “snake pit”, others “golden snake”. The place where Cancun stands housed the Mayan population, people that lived in communion with the jungle. Numerous vestiges remind us of their greatness: the fortress of Tulum, the city of Coba and Kohunlich, among others; many of their treasures are still undiscovered.

For a long time, possibilities of progress in this area were hampered due to wars and conquests, pirate attacks, harsh climate and hurricanes. During the Colonial period, civilizations didn’t last too long in this area because of the proximity to the open sea and frequent pirate attacks that prevent people from establishing in firm ground, and when they managed to reach higher ground, they couldn’t establish here because of dangers and obstacles inherent to the jungle.

Many years later, in 1967, the Mexican government realized how important the tourist industry was to Mexico’s economy and so they started to look for attractive places where to develop a hotel and entertainment infrastructure. Given Cancun’s natural beauty, with its wonderful blue-turquoise sea and stunning white sand beaches, it appeared like the perfect candidate for starting the creation of what would become one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, and so the plan for building the entire infrastructure necessary for an endeavor of these characteristics began executing in 1970.

However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that Cancun experienced an impressive boost. It was the time when the most important hotels were set up, when there was a surge of shopping centers and entertainment venues, and Cancun, that had been until that period an exclusive vacation destination for the elite travelers, became the preferred destination for all kinds of tourists, with its wide variety of accommodations and options that can suit any taste.

Today, Cancun, a city that has experienced a continuous growth throughout almost four decades, features about 140 hotels, 22,000 hotel rooms and hundreds of restaurants, in addition to several malls, a thousand stores and a wide assortment of nightclubs. It is the destination of choice of millions of tourists from all around the globe. Make it yours too!

Cancun Population

Cancun and the Riviera Maya are the fastest growing areas in the Mexican Republic. With a flourishing tourism market and the possibility of enjoying the incredible beaches and warm climate all year round, hundred of thousands people from all parts of Mexico, as well as Europeans, South Americans and North Americans, have been drawn to this region, eager to taste a bit of paradise while earning a good living. That’s why Cancun has turned into a sort of “melting pot”, where Mexicans, Germans, Italians, Cubans, Argentineans, Canadians and Americans, among other nationalities, live and work peacefully together.