When did the first tourists arrive on Isla Mujeres?

When asked this question, some say 1990's, others 1980's, some are bold enough to suggest 1970's. The island and the number of tourist has grown over the years, particularly since the year 2000, but tourism on Isla Mujeres actually started before the most ambitious of those guesses.

Cancun was a fishing village when it started to build its tourist industry in 1970's,  Isla Mujeres was way ahead having been promoted as a tourist destination since the in the 1800's. It was actually a Cuban, José Martí, who was one of the first to promote Isla Mujeres, he lived on the island in the late 1800's. John Stephens an American published a book about Isla Mujeres which became widely read. 

The well know Mexican photographer Agustin Casasola also published many photos of the island. All those years ago it had become an attraction for adventurers and photographers. On reading accounts of Isla Mujeres a lot of interest was generated and people started visiting.

In 1936, President Lazaro Cardenas, who unlike many Presidents did much to help Mexican peasants and workers, he gave land and made loans available to peasants. Whilst campaigning for the presidency, Cardenas had fallen in love the beaches and Turquoise seas of the area of Quintana Roo, and created the Department of Tourism,  tourism was given an additional boost.

   During the 1930's, the Mexican pilot Francisco Sarabia began operating  in Quintana Roo. He had a total of five small planes, each was limited to just five passengers. The route was  between Isla Mujeres, Cozumel, Puerto Carrillo and Chetumal. It continued  until 1939, when Sarabia was killed when his plane crashed.

In the 1950's Magana (the predecessor to Ultramar) started providing a ferry service between Isla Mujeres and Puerto Juarez. During 1955 the road to Puerto Juarez was completed. However, prior to that buses were providing what you might call a service to Puerto Juarez from Valladolid and Merida. As the road was incomplete, the passengers had to get off the bus and walk the last four kilometers to Puerto Juarez.  They would then wait till a fire was lit, the smoke from which would advise the Magana boat at Isla Mujeres that there were passengers waiting to be collected.

For anyone who thought Isla Mujeres was developed recently may be surprised to learn that there was a bullring and bull fighting on the island in the 1940's, supported by the island's wealthy.

 Things were in other respects, fairly slow to develop; there was until fairly recently and elderly gentleman on the island who sold coconuts, he told of when there were no cars on Isla Mujeres, indeed there were no paved roads when he was a child, and he remembers when the first taxi arrived on the island which caused quite a stir.