🇲🇽 MexicoFlow
Settle In. Branch Out.
Week of October 5, 2026
✈️ Need-to-Know: Mexico’s Airports Are Growing — But Tulum Is Going the Other Direction
Mexico’s airports are having a busy year.
From January through August, airports across the country handled 128.3 million passengers — 86.8 million domestic and 41.5 million international travelers.
But the most interesting part of the new numbers isn’t necessarily Mexico’s biggest airports.
It’s the smaller cities gaining ground.
Among Mexico’s 15 busiest airports, Querétaro recorded the fastest passenger growth at 11.7%, followed by AIFA at 9.6%, Mérida at 7%, Chihuahua at 6.3% and Guadalajara at 4.8%. Gobierno de México
That suggests Mexico’s air-travel map continues expanding beyond the traditional Cancún–Mexico City–Los Cabos tourism triangle.
And then there’s Tulum.
Tulum’s Airport Hits Turbulence
When Tulum International Airport opened in late 2023, airlines rushed to add routes.
Now we’re seeing the other side of that expansion.
Aeroméxico and Volaris have announced suspensions of service to Tulum, citing higher operating costs and weak passenger demand. Tourist arrivals to Tulum reportedly fell 33.6% between January and August 2026 compared with the same period last year. La Jornada
That’s particularly interesting because only a few weeks ago we reported on additional seasonal international routes coming to Tulum this winter.
Those aren’t necessarily contradictory. Some international seasonal routes can operate while other airlines reduce or eliminate different services. But together, the stories show something important:
Tulum’s airport is still trying to figure out what level of air service the destination can actually support.
For travelers living in the Riviera Maya, Cancún remains the region’s dominant airport — and probably will for quite some time.
See Mexico’s latest airport statistics
💰 Money Matters: Inflation Is Still Under 4%
Mexico’s latest official figures put annual headline inflation at 3.26%, with core inflation at 3.88%. Bank of Mexico
That doesn’t mean everything at your grocery store suddenly feels cheap.
Inflation measures how quickly prices are changing — not whether prices have returned to where they were several years ago.
So when inflation falls, prices generally aren’t falling with it. They’re simply rising more slowly.
That’s an important distinction for anyone budgeting a life in Mexico, particularly people living on retirement income or savings denominated in another currency.
We’ll keep watching inflation and the peso as we head toward the end of the year.
Check the latest Banco de México inflation data
🌀 What Happened to Hurricane Polo?
We’ve followed Polo for the past two newsletters, so we owe this story an ending.
After becoming an extraordinarily powerful Category 5 hurricane over the Pacific, Polo weakened before crossing Baja California Sur and then made a second landfall near Guaymas, Sonora, as a Category 1 hurricane on September 29.
The storm brought torrential rainfall to northwestern Mexico before weakening over land. Gobierno de México
So unless there’s a significant new development, this is where we’re retiring Polo from MexicoFlow.
Three newsletters is enough attention for one hurricane. 😂
🏥 Health & Insurance: What Does Coinsurance Actually Mean?
Deductibles get most of the attention when people compare health insurance.
But there’s another number you should understand:
Coinsurance.
Your deductible is generally the amount of eligible expenses you’re responsible for before the insurer begins sharing covered costs according to the policy.
Coinsurance determines how those covered expenses are divided afterward.
For example, a plan might require you to pay a percentage of eligible costs after the deductible while the insurance company pays the remainder, often subject to the terms and limits of the policy.
That becomes much more important with a $50,000 hospitalization than with a routine doctor’s appointment.
When comparing international health insurance, don’t look at the deductible in isolation. Ask:
What could I realistically have to pay out of pocket during a major medical event?
That means looking at the deductible, coinsurance, any coinsurance maximum, coverage limits and geographic restrictions together.
Brett helps expats compare those details rather than simply choosing whichever policy has the lowest premium.
👉 Request a Health Insurance Quote
👉 Health Insurance for Expats in Mexico: FAQs
🎬 Worth a Trip: Morelia’s Film Festival Starts October 16
We mentioned this one briefly last week, but now it’s close enough to actually put on the calendar.
The Morelia International Film Festival runs October 16–25 in Morelia, Michoacán.
The festival brings together Mexican and international cinema and has become one of the country’s major film events. Visit Mexico
But you don’t have to be obsessed with movies to make a trip out of it.
Morelia’s historic center is one of Mexico’s most beautiful colonial city centers, filled with the distinctive pink-stone architecture for which the city is known.
This is exactly the kind of event that works well for a short Mexico getaway:
Pick a movie. Eat ridiculously well. Walk around a beautiful city. Come home two days later.
📅 October 16–25, 2026
📍 Morelia, Michoacán
🏄 Something Completely Different: A Surf Festival in Colima
If film festivals aren’t your thing, here’s a very different October option.
Paraíso de las Olas 2026, a surf and bodyboard festival, takes place October 23–25 in Armería, Colima.
The event brings together surfing, bodyboarding and the local coastal community, with activities aimed at different experience levels. Visit Mexico
Colima doesn’t receive nearly the international tourism attention of neighboring Jalisco, which is precisely why it can be interesting to explore.
📅 October 23–25, 2026
📍 Armería, Colima
💀 Beyond Día de Muertos: Meet Yucatán’s Janal Pixán
We’re going to hear the words Día de Muertos a lot over the next month.
But Mexico’s traditions aren’t identical everywhere.
In Yucatán, the Maya tradition is known as Janal Pixán, meaning roughly “food of the souls.”
The observance runs from October 31 through November 2 and honors deceased family members through altars, candles and foods prepared especially for the occasion. October 31 traditionally remembers children, November 1 adults, and November 2 includes remembrance of the departed more broadly. Yucatán
And the food is fascinating.
Traditional offerings can include pib or mucbipollo, tamales, atole, seasonal fruit, sweets and other dishes placed on the altar for returning souls. Yucatán
This is one of the things I love about Mexico: what outsiders sometimes describe as one national holiday is actually made up of many local and Indigenous traditions.
If you’re traveling during Día de Muertos, don’t just ask where the biggest parade is.
Ask:
How does this particular community observe it?
That’s where Mexico gets interesting.
Learn about Janal Pixán from the Government of Yucatán
🏵️ Día de Muertos Planning: Mexico City’s Cempasúchil Season Begins Soon
If you’re considering Mexico City for Día de Muertos, the celebrations don’t suddenly begin November 1.
The city’s Cempasúchil Flower Festival begins October 18 along Paseo de la Reforma and continues through November 1. Mexico City
Cempasúchil — the brilliant orange Mexican marigold — is much more than seasonal decoration.
Its color and scent are traditionally associated with guiding the dead back toward the living during Día de Muertos.
Over the next few weeks, you’ll begin seeing the flowers appear in markets, homes, businesses and public displays across Mexico.
By late October, they’re everywhere.
📅 October 18–November 1
📍 Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City
See Mexico City’s official Día de Muertos program
🌽 Mexico Living Tip: Don’t Assume a Holiday Works the Same Everywhere
This week’s Janal Pixán story gives us a useful reminder for living in Mexico:
National traditions are often intensely regional.
Food changes. Language changes. Celebrations change. Even the way a familiar holiday is observed can change dramatically when you travel from one state to another.
Instead of looking for the version of Mexico you already recognize, ask locals what their town does.
That’s often how you discover the best stuff.
🌿 Settle In. Branch Out.
October is when Mexico’s cultural calendar really starts getting crowded.
Airports are growing, Tulum is adjusting, Morelia is preparing for filmmakers, Colima is heading for the waves, and across the country cempasúchil flowers and Día de Muertos preparations are beginning to appear.
And after three weeks…
Goodbye, Hurricane Polo. You’ve had enough newsletter coverage. 😂
See you next week. 🇲🇽
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Settle In. Branch Out.