Playa del Carmen Tour Sales Shift Online, Prompting Fraud Warnings

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The sale of tourist tours in Playa del Carmen has rapidly shifted to digital platforms, now accounting for about 80 percent of all transactions, a trend that has changed consumer habits but also increased online fraud cases.

According to Isabel Aragón, a salesperson at the agency Tours Noa, visitors who approach street kiosks primarily do so to compare prices after first checking rates online. “Those who come to street kiosks are looking for prices; they’ve already seen them online and come to haggle,” she explained.

The growing digital sales have been accompanied by a rise in fraud complaints. Between one and two daily reports related to tour booking scams are posted online, affecting both tourists and formal service providers.

In response, Aragón urged consumers to carefully verify platforms before making any payment. “If you’re going to buy online, always check the recommendations; the most reliable pages are Tripadvisor and Google, and finally Facebook, because there’s a lot of bot purchases there that aren’t real customers,” she warned.

Tour service providers reiterated the importance of booking only with established agencies that have a presence on verifiable platforms, as a measure to reduce risks and protect the destination’s image.