Riviera Maya, Q.R. — While hotels are obligated to comply with the new anti-smoking laws, “we are not police officers,” says the former head of the Hotel Association.
Roberto Cintrón Gómez, the former President of the Cancun Hotel Association, says hotels will comply with the new laws as much as possible, but points out that they are not police.
He also says that it is difficult for them to have control over the situation of guests smoking outside their facilities and questions the adequacy of the laws since non-compliance results in a fine to the hotel, not the person breaking the law by smoking.
“It is very important to point out that we are not police officers, we are going to monitor that the law is complied with in our facilities, but we cannot stand behind people who come to have a good time and put out their cigarette on the beach, that will be up to the authorities,” he said.
Hotels already have their own anti-smoking rules in place, he added, saying that they will add additional signage where and when possible, informing guests of the new, more strict laws.
Smokers who ignore the signs should be dealt with by authorities, he stressed.
“They have to hold whoever they find smoking responsible, not the companies. The companies will do everything possible to maintain signage, even going as far as to tell people that smoking is prohibited here,” he said after the new anti-smoking laws, which are being called the most strict in Latin America, went into effect January 15, 2023.
