Get ready to move your clocks forward on February 1, 2015 as the coastal state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, the Rivera Maya, and Costa Maya, gets in sync with the Eastern coast of the United States and Canada. The states of Campeche and Yucatan located in the Yucatan Peninsula will not be following suite. These states will remain on Central Time.
The recent decision was based on a few factors. Since 1981 the Federal Government has been pushing to change the time zone in Quintana Roo so businesses and flights are in line with a large portion of its tourism sector located in the Eastern Time Zone. Tourists will not have to deal with time changes, and businesses can increase their productivity by being in the same time zone as our partners to the north.
It is believed that the time change will increase tourism revenue, decrease the amount of electricity used, and have an environmental impact with less CO2 released into the atmosphere.
The catch is this, Quintana Roo will not participate in Day Light Savings Time, and so clocks will never be changed again. The new time zone will be called the South East Zone.
So get ready for the change on February 1, 2015. Set your clock forward at 2 am and look forward to longer daylight hours, which means longer time on the beach. For anyone that exercises, this change means that your morning run can start a bit later as the sun will rise a bit later. The sun will rise later letting you delay your morning workout (many start at 5 am to beat the heat) easier before the Caribbean heat starts.
