Mexican Tourism Ministers Looking to Add COVID-Related Requirements

State tourism ministers in Mexico are asking the federal government to implement new coronavirus-related health and safety protocols.

According to Mexico News Daily, the country’s association of tourism ministers is looking for federal officials to require incoming international travelers to present a COVID-19 vaccination certificate or a negative test result before entry.

Tourism Ministers Association head Juan Carlos Rivera Castellanos said the group would present their plan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs next week. While Mexico currently boasts few COVID-related restrictions, the lack of protocols have been blamed for an influx of cases in popular tourism destinations.

Rivera Castellanos said the association of tourism ministers is in agreement regarding the implementation of new coronavirus-related health and safety regulations, with the belief that increased measures would slow the spread.

For the new protocols to be approved, the federal government must develop a plan with the Health Ministry, including solving potential issues about whether Mexico would allow entry to tourists regardless of which COVID-19 vaccination they received.

Last month, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his country has no plans of asking residents and arriving tourists for proof of COVID-19 vaccination, with vaccine mandates not part of the government’s long-term health and safety plans.

Despite the rising number of cases, the Secretariat de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) announced in August that the five largest carriers in the U.S. transported 2.3 million passengers to and from Mexico in July, the highest on record.