Tourists in Mexico party like there’s no Covid-19

Tourists writhe their bodies to pumping techno beats on dance floors along Mexico’s Caribbean coast, a magnet for people from around the world who want to party during a pandemic.

The Latin American country is among those worst hit by Covid19 with a death toll fast approaching 200,000.

But such worries seem a world away in tourist resorts like here and Cancun, where visitors can dance late into the night at discos, electronic music festivals and invitationonly parties.

Once a sleepy fishing village, Tulum now attracts international tourists lured by its turquoise waters, Mayan ruins and the chance to party next to lush jungle, freshwater sinkholes and golden beaches.

“The coronavirus thing is nonsense. Life must go on,” said Greta from Spain, who described the rave she attended in December as “amazing”.

“The party in Tulum was magical — a combination of the jungle, rituals, the sea breeze,” she said.

But what is a dream for Greta is a nightmare for many others, leaving the town facing accusations that it is putting lives at risk by allowing mass gatherings with lax sanitary measures.

Mexico is one of the few major tourist destinations not to have closed its borders or demanded a negative coronavirus test result on arrival.

That has ensured that the plane-loads of visitors keep coming, making Mexico the thirdmost visited country in the world last year.

In destinations like Cancun, hotels offer incentives such as free Covid-19 tests and discounts for guests if they are infected and forced to extend their stay in order to quarantine.

Tulum made international headlines in November when 50 attendees were infected at Art With Me, Mexico’s version of the Burning Man festival that was quickly dubbed a super-spreader event.