The origin story of this destination, which paved the way for Quintana Roo travel.

In the 2020s, Cancun hit a major tourism milestone: 50 years of Cancun.

Cancun technically originated in 1970, but was officially recognized in 1974 when Quintana Roo became a Mexican state.

Large pelican like bird in the clear blue ocean water of Cancun, Mexico

Roció Ferrin/EyeEm/Getty Images

And that’s exactly what they did.

What’s truly impressive about the plan is how calculated it was.

Flash forward to today it’s been 50 years of thriving tourism inCancun.

Hotels along beach in Cancun in the 197s0s

Franz-Marc Frei/Getty Images

Thegreater Cancun areahas really adapted far beyond what the original developers could have imagined.

Hotels and resorts along Cancun coastline

Andrea De La Parra Valdes/EyeEm/Getty Images

Parachute play on the beach of Club Med in October 1982 in Cancun, Mexico

Robert VAN DER HILST/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images