Mexico’s lawmakers have postponed the application of a new US $42-dollar fee for every cruise ship passenger docking at Mexico’s ports, according to the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA).
The fee, which was proposed to come into effect starting January 2025, will now not be put into effect until July 2025.
The FCCA, while praising the temporary suspension of the fee, stressed its concern about the negative impact the measure could have on Mexico’s tourism industry and its workers.
“While the suspension provides temporary respite…more comprehensive measures are needed to address broader concerns about the fee’s devastating impact on cruise tourism, Mexico’s economy and the livelihoods of its coastal communities,” the FCCA said in a statement.
The announcement of the proposed fee sent ripples through the cruise industry when it was made public in early December, as Mexico had previously exempted cruise passengers from immigration fees due to their “in transit” status.
According to the FCCA, which represents 23 cruise lines, several companies were considering altering their itineraries in response to the new fee.
The association also criticized the lack of prior consultation with industry representatives on such a measure, noting that before this new duty was announced, “the industry sought to grow business in Mexico, and now the opposite will be the case.”
With 79 votes in favor and 38 against, Mexico’s Senate approved the $42-dollar fee on Dec. 3. During the presentation of the ruling, Senator Cuauhtémoc Ochoa Fernández (Morena) highlighted that the increases for 2025 in the collection of duties are based on inflation and adjustments congruent with the “evolution of technologies and processes.”
On Monday, the governor of Quintana Roo — Mexico’s No.1 cruise tourism destination — confirmed the fee’s postponement for six months, sharing that it resulted from a meeting between Mexican government authorities and representatives of the cruise and tourism sector.
“We have had total openness with the federal government to engage in dialogue, [and] we believe that these fees should remain in the places where the visitor arrives,” Mara Lezama was reported saying in an article published by the newspaper El Economista.
“For the time being, [as] the FCCA has already said…a postponement [of the new fee] was achieved as a first agreement.”
The FCCA is pushing for the complete elimination of the immigration fee for cruise ship passengers, saying that if implemented, cruise lines “expect a progressive decrease in arrivals [to Mexico’s ports], which will significantly affect the employment of cab drivers, tour guides, artisans, waiters, restaurateurs, craft store owners, pharmacies and more.”
With reports from El Economista and Forbes
