Opinion Archive

What to Make of Cancún vs Miami

June 25, 2008

One of the most tiresome clichés that Mexicans repeat is that Cancún is "not Mexico". They say it is "Miami", when what they are really insinuating is that there is some sort of contradiction between what is Mexican and what is modern. It plays to the need for Mexicans to try to distinguish themselves from the giant next door, but it does the country a disservice in two ways: 1) by downplaying an impressive Mexican success story, 2) by ignoring differences with Miami that show Cancún the way to a more economically secure and prosperous future.

For better, and for worse, Cancún is not Miami and it very definitely is Mexico. Most of the investment in the area is from Mexican institutions and investors. Hundreds of thousands of our fellow conuntrymen and women have left their homes in Yucatán, Mexico City, etc., to build a new life in formerly Mayan territory. Despite widespread use of English and the dollar, the city's hospitality is decidedly Mexican and 40% of its visitors are now domestic.

It is, in fact, an incredible Mexican success story, with nearly 60,000 area hotel rooms and millions of visitors per year. According to some estimates, nearly 1 in 4 dollars that Mexico earns as a tourist destination is due to the Cancún/Riviera Maya region. That's not bad considering that this country is the world's 8th most important destination and that it contains such powerhouses as Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Acapulco, and Mexico City itself, which according to Euromonitor, received more international visitors than Los Angeles and Las Vegas in 2006. Despite being much smaller than Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana, Cancún's airport is second only to the DF in the number of flights it receives. The area, which includes Cozumel, is the world's most visited cruise destination.

Your loss is my gain

Both Miami and Cancún were affected by Cuba, whose capital Havana lies almost exactly in between. But the way that Cuba influenced them is very different and it provides clues as to where Cancún's areas of opportunity lie.

Cancún became the pre-eminent Caribbean tourist destination in large part because Cuba, which is closer to the US, removed itself from the competition by establishing an anti-American Communist dictatorship. Miami got its start as an international hub because the same phenomenon led to the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, including "the best and the brightest", so-called "Golden Exiles" of the 1960s. So, while Cancún became a leader in tourism in part by default, Miami benefited from an enormous wave of immigrant energy and brainpower.

The upshot is that, while Quintana Roo receives millions of cruise ship passengers, the headquarters of the cruising industry are in Miami. While Miami certainly has a bustling tourist trade, it is also a major financial services center, with the largest concentration of international banks in the US (including New York). According to UBS it is the third richest American city and the 22nd in the world.

Today, wealthy, entrepreneurial and professionally-trained Latin Americans who merely vacation in Cancún, make their home in Miami. That commitment makes a difference, with the Floridian city being a credible, well-rounded "world" city and Cancún being a "one-industry town". Thus, when multi-millionaire Mexican stars want to live in the capital of "Latino" glamour, they buy their houses in Miami, not Cancún.

Turning vice into nice

Throughout most of modern history, the United States has been very effective at harnessing the world's entrepreneurial zeal via its immigrants. Perhaps it is a stretch to think that a lonely outpost on the Yucatán Peninsula could fully measure up to a city on the mainland of the American superpower. But other cities in developing countries have carved significant niches for themselves by embracing the world economy and the people who drive it. Not only places such as Hong Kong and Dubai, but even Central American Panama, have understood that a solid tourism industry can open the door to full economic development. But that such development comes from an increasingly diversified economy and it requires openness and a belief in the creative power of hard-working immigrants from all over the world.

Cancún shows that Mexico and modernity can thrive together. But Miami shows what is necessary to go from being a seedy resort town to being a world city. In the 1980s, South Florida was synonymous with drugs and "Miami Vice". In the 1990s it cleaned up its act and now the building boom that is causing so many headaches can be seen as a "growing pain" on the way to a more consolidated future. Cancún needs to take heed of its Caribbean cousin. Not because of what it is, but because of what it could be.  

For the latest thought-provoking article by Agustin Barrios Gomez please go to our Opinion Column page

Return to top