Playa del Carmen Restaurants Ask City to Cut Sign Fees of Up to 30,000 Pesos

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Restaurant owners have asked the Solidaridad municipal government to review the fees it charges for advertising signs, which run from 15,000 to 30,000 pesos a year for a business name or logo displayed outside a premises, said Roberto Lepe, president of the local branch of Canirac, the national restaurant and prepared-food industry chamber.

Lepe said the payments place an excessive burden on businesses and proposed replacing them with a renewal fee of between 2,000 and 4,000 pesos. He said the chamber is already in talks with the municipal treasurer and expects to set up a working group with the Economic Development and Urban Development departments in the coming weeks.

The industry is willing to meet its obligations, Lepe said, but is asking for fair and equitable amounts. He questioned why successive municipal administrations have added new fee categories without notifying businesses in advance.

Owners say closing hours have been rolled back

Lepe also raised changes to operating hours. Establishments once could stay open until 3 a.m. by paying for extra hours, he said; the limit was later reduced to 1 a.m. and now stands at 11 p.m. He described the modifications as arbitrary.

Canirac has asked officials to consider extending closing times, pointing to Cancún, where Lepe said venues are allowed to operate until 6 a.m.

He acknowledged that longer hours would only translate into sales if more visitors arrive, and called for joint action by authorities and business owners to revive tourism and restaurant activity in the resort city.