Isla Mujeres, Q.R. – Although an official announcement regarding the startup of a new ferry service has not been made, a ticket booth for Xcaret is now complete. The two vessels, Xcaret and Xel-Há, are expected to be in operation by the end of November.
The theme park company, Grupo Xcaret, had two vessels delivered to Isla Mujeres in July, where they have remained docked. As of this week, a ticket booth, Xcaret Xailing, was finished. The company has taken over the old Integral Port Administration of Quintana Roo (Apiqroo) facilities of Isla Mujeres.
Alicia Ricalde, general director of Apiqroo, reported that it will be used by the Xcaret consortium for its vessels to start operating the 14 kilometer (9 nautical mile) route between the Cancun Hotel Zone and Isla Mujeres.
The Xcaret company is expected to begin offering the service between the last week of November and the first week of December, being in full swing for the upcoming winter tourist season.
Personnel recruitment has already begun. The two vessels are said to have come in at a price of around $50 million USD. Each vessel has a 650-person capacity. Miguel Quintana Pali, the general director of Xcaret, says the launch of the ferry service will see an increase of between 20 and 30 percent more visitors to the island in the high season.
Xcaret has not yet released a schedule or cost of tickets for local people or tourism that board from Isla Mujeres.
