Business Leaders Urge Playa del Carmen to Diversify Economy as Tourism Slumps

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — A weak summer tourism season has set off alarm bells among business leaders in Playa del Carmen, who say the resort town must accelerate efforts to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on visitors.

José Luis Acosta Quian, president of the Playa del Carmen chapter of Canacintra, the national manufacturing industry chamber, called it worrying that a period that traditionally brings high activity performed much like a low season.

He said the drop in visitor traffic ripples through the entire economic chain, hitting micro, small and medium-sized businesses hardest as consumer spending dries up.

“If the high season felt like the low season, then the economic issue is indeed worrying,” the business leader said.

Acosta Quian said the economic development hubs announced for Quintana Roo offer a chance to broaden the state’s productive base, pointing in particular to the planned project in Cancún, where Canacintra hopes manufacturers and suppliers to the tourism industry will set up operations.

One goal, he explained, is to build a supply chain in Quintana Roo capable of meeting demand from large hotels, so that resorts do not have to turn to suppliers in other countries — particularly China — for products and equipment.

The Canacintra president even described as viable the idea of reviving a trade partnership with China, similar to one pursued years ago that never materialized because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said China’s experience as a manufacturing power could be harnessed to strengthen Quintana Roo’s productive capacity and to forge links that allow local companies to join new supplier networks.

Acosta Quian insisted the state cannot keep depending exclusively on tourism, especially during periods when hotel occupancy and visitor spending decline. He added that the sargassum seaweed problem has also hurt the destination’s image and put further pressure on business owners and service providers.

Small and mid-sized companies are struggling the most, he said, because the slowdown in tourist traffic cuts directly into their sales and cash flow. Still, he expressed hope that beach conditions could improve with shifting tides and ongoing cleanup work, which would help Playa del Carmen recover part of its appeal.

For the business sector, he concluded, the underlying bet must be to stop relying on a single economic engine and to turn the development hubs into a real platform for new companies and local suppliers.