Cozumel excluded from cruise fund decisions despite being top port

Cozumel, Quintana Roo — Councilor Roberto Marín Flores of Movimiento Ciudadano has once again questioned the municipal government’s representation in decision-making for the Quintana Roo Cruise Tourism Welfare Trust Fund (FBTCQROO).

This trust fund manages resources from the $5 tax charged to each visitor arriving by cruise ship at state ports, including Cozumel and Mahahual. Marín Flores estimated that approximately $20 million (nearly 440 million pesos) is being collected, and the state government committed to adding another $5 per visitor, which should total nearly 900 million pesos. However, only 97 million pesos are earmarked for the island, of which only 68 million has been received.

“We cannot allow ourselves to be excluded… Island residents must be aware, raise their voices, to obtain what is rightfully ours,” Marín Flores stated. “The mayor mentions that 240 million pesos in projects have been approved since the beginning of the year, but we haven’t seen that money anywhere. So, basically, to me, it’s a pipe dream.”

The island has been left behind and excluded from decisions where it should be a protagonist, being the country’s main cruise destination. However, during the Fourth Ordinary Session 2025 of the Technical Committee in Miami, only state authorities and cruise industry representatives participated.

That money, he reiterated, belongs to Cozumel residents and they need it because infrastructure projects are urgently required to improve streets that are in terrible condition, public areas also need attention, there are problems with garbage collection, the water treatment plant, among other needs.