Puerto Progreso, the main cruise port in the Mexican state of Yucatán, will see 45 additional cruise calls next year, pushing passenger arrivals up by 20 percent, the port authority said in a statement.

 “We are bringing together three levels of government, tourism service providers and the private sector to enhance what Puerto Progreso and the surrounding cities of the State of Yucatán can offer the cruise world,” said Mauricio Vila Dosal, the governor of Yucatán.

MSC Cruises will call 41 times in Puerto Progreso during the 2020-2021 season, with an estimated 96,000 passengers and 30,000 crew visiting the port and the surrounding cities.

The MSC Armonia will be the first MSC Cruises ship to sail to Progreso, arriving in November 2020 with 2,340 passengers aboard. 

Other callers include the Viking Sky, Silver Shadow, P&O Aurora and Costa Luminosa, while the Disney Wonder is scheduled for a January 2021 call.

Arrivals in 2019 are estimated to have increased five percent on 2018 with a total of 142 cruise calls and 465,000 passengers, as a result of the State of Yucatán’s and the private sector’s combined efforts to improve the attractiveness of the port by upgrading its facilities to better receive more cruise passengers.

“We are sure that Progreso will become a key destination in the cruise world,” said Michelle Fridman, Yucatán’s minister of tourism.