Cancún

Quintana Roo, Mexico

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Cancún is a world-famous resort city and island destination in Quintana Roo state on the northeastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, facing the Caribbean Sea. Originally a small Maya fishing and gathering settlement of about 100 people, it was transformed in 1970 when the Mexican government selected it as a site for an international holiday center, and a building boom in the 1980s turned it into a major resort attracting tourists from the United States, Europe, and around the world. The destination consists of Ciudad Cancún (the service city) and Isla Cancún, a 13-mile-long by 0.25-mile-wide L-shaped barrier island known as the Zona Hotelera or Hotel Zone, which is connected to the city by a causeway and features skyscraper hotels, sprawling resorts, white sand beaches, palm groves, and coral reefs. Cancún has a warm tropical climate with a short rainy season and boasts some of the Caribbean's best velvety beaches, making it one of Mexico's busiest places and one of the most important tourist destinations globally. The city now has a population of about 888,797 (2020), has outstripped the state capital Chetumal as Quintana Roo's largest city and commercial center, and serves as a gateway to nearby Mayan ruins including Tulum and Chichén Itzá, with an international airport located 12 miles south of the city.