Cozumel Revitalizes Downtown with New Bus Stops at Plaza del Sol

Cozumel, Quintana Roo — Cozumel has opened two new bus stops at Plaza del Sol to redirect tourist traffic directly to the island’s downtown commercial center, part of an effort to boost local businesses and revitalize the area around Benito Juárez Park.

The designated spaces in the shopping center’s parking lot now allow tour buses to drop off and pick up visitors, who can then walk through the downtown streets lined with craft shops, silver stores, and restaurants. Officials aim to spread tourism spending beyond the cruise ship piers and into the city’s core.

“The exclusive space for buses was set up in the plaza’s parking lot, which was previously occupied by motorcycles,” said Andrés Catzín Gómez, director of Public Works. “To avoid affecting the income that DIF obtained from that use, we expanded the internal area for cars and created a new space for motorcycles there.”

Local merchants have welcomed the change as addressing a long-standing request. Jorge Poblano, a Plaza del Sol shopkeeper, noted that since the parking lot’s creation in 2011, an area had been designated for tours but had recently been taken over by motorcycles. With the reallocation, he expects increased tourist flow to downtown businesses, helping restore the commercial vitality that once characterized the zone.

The move represents part of a comprehensive strategy to revive Cozumel’s downtown by balancing tourism with local commerce and offering visitors a more complete experience.