Cancún (/kænˈkuːn/ kan-KOON, US also /kɑːnˈkuːn/ kahn-KOON,[4] Spanish: [kaŋˈkun] ⓘ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula.

In the years after the Spanish conquest of Yucatán, much of the Maya population died or left as a result of disease, warfare, and famines, leaving only small settlements on Isla Mujeres and Cozumel Island.

In 1967 government allocated 2 million dollars fund to be administered by the Bank of Mexico to determine the feasibility of creating new recreational zones, “preferably where no other viable development alternatives exist."

The growth of Cancún outpaced the rest of Quintana Roo during the late 20th cenutury, for example, from 1970 to 1980 the population grew annually on average by 62.3%.

[16] In hindsight, the development of Cancún as tourist city performed better on a number of metrics than what Mexican state planners had envisionaged.

[16] Once outside the main tourist areas of the World the growth of Cancún was part of a wider touristification of northern Quintana Roo while in the south and east of the state the timber industry developed more than tourism.

The municipal authorities have struggled to provide public services for the constant influx of people, as well as limiting squatters and irregular developments, which now[when?]

By 2010, Los Zetas, a group that broke away from the Gulf Cartel, had taken control of many smuggling routes through the Yucatán, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

[24] Starting in 2015, Cancun tourism was significantly impacted by the appearance of large amounts of smelly, unsightly brown Sargassum seaweed on its white sand beaches every summer.

[26] Apart from the island tourist zone (part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System), the Mexican residential section of the city, the downtown part of which is known as "El Centro", follows a master plan that consists of "supermanzanas"[27] (superblocks), giant trapezoids with a central, open, non-residential area cut in by u-shaped residential streets.

The remaining undeveloped beach and lagoon front areas outside the hotel zone are now under varying stages of development, in Punta Sam and Puerto Juarez to the north, continuing along Bonampak and south toward the airport along Boulevard Donaldo Colosio.

In the Cancún region, a loss of $87 million (1989 USD) due to a decline in tourism was estimated for the months of October, November and December in 1988.

The hurricane's eye first passed over the island of Cozumel, and then made an official landfall near Playa del Carmen in the state of Quintana Roo at around 11 p.m. local time on October 21 with winds near 140 mph (230 km/h).

Portions of the island of Cozumel experienced the calm eye of Wilma for several hours with some blue skies and sunshine visible at times.

The original control tower was a provisional wooden structure, the work of Mexican architects Agustín and Enrique Landa Verdugo.

Six years after Quintana Roo was recognized as the youngest state in the Mexican Republic and barely a decade after the city of Cancún was born, on October 22 and 23, 1981, the North-South Summit was held at the now defunct Sheraton Hotel.

Two abstract pillars made of metal crossbeams gave the structure a stepped pyramidal appearance, with small masts displaying the flags of the countries attending the 1981 North-South Summit.

The author, Lorraine Pinto, added details representing Quetzalcoatl on the sides, resembling the pyramid of Chichen-Itza, located in Yucatan.

In 1994, the municipal authorities of Cancún decided to demolish the commemorative structure because the city had been the scene of one of the most devastating climatic-environmental phenomena in the history of the Yucatan Peninsula, Hurricane Gilberto.

Due to its crosswise and bare appearance, the locals began to call it "Insectronic", a device manufactured by the Steren company to kill flies and mosquitoes.

The city is also home to the baseball team Tigres de Quintana Roo, who play in the Mexican League (LMB).

In October 2023, the WTA Finals (Women's Tennis Association) were held in Cancún, in a temporary, outdoor, hard court stadium in Plaza Quintana Roo with a capacity of 4,300.

[49] The island of Isla Mujeres is located off the coast and is accessible by ferry from Puerto Juárez and Playa Tortugas in the Hotel Zone.

[53] Cancún is also served by five public transportation companies, who are granted concessions by the Quintana Roo Institute of Mobility (Imoveqroo) or the Municipality of Benito Juárez, depending on the type of vehicles operated.

Operated by SEA (a joint venture between Turicun, Autocar, and Maya Caribe), services run around every 5 minutes and go between Tulum Avenue and the Westin Resort.

[58][53][61] The Tren Maya, under construction since June 2020, will connect Cancún to Palenque, Chiapas with intermediate stops on the Yucatán peninsula[62] and operations started on December 15, 2023.