Quintana Roo Prepares Protocol Against Child Exploitation in Tourism

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo’s tourism industry will adopt new measures to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents under a protocol that enters a pilot phase in October, state officials said.

The plan is designed to involve hotels, tour guides, digital platforms and other tourism service providers, according to Omar Govea Hernández, deputy secretary of the State Tourism Department.

Govea Hernández said the document is in the final stages of drafting and stems from regulations attached to the state Tourism Law. Its purpose is to give tourism companies practical tools to identify possible risk situations and activate prevention and reporting mechanisms.

Working groups that drafted the protocol have included the State Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Security Department, private-sector representatives and the international organization ECPAT México. Those participants contributed expertise and experience to define procedures that can be applied across different segments of the tourism industry.

The official said service providers will not take on investigative duties or replace security authorities. Instead, they will be expected to detect warning signs and set off a response chain, through measures that could include registration procedures for reservations, technology tools and training for staff who deal directly with visitors.

The measures will also address the digital environment, where officials have identified risks linked to the deception and recruitment of adolescents, sextortion and the commercialization of content. For vacation rental platforms and other digital services, the plan is to make use of existing alert systems to help detect behavior that may signal a risk.

The protocol targets state-recognized tourism providers, from large hotels to tour guides and companies tied to community tourism. Govea Hernández said the goal is for the document to serve as a practical tool rather than simply an administrative requirement for businesses.

Drafting is set to conclude in September, with a test in October involving three to four companies from different tourism segments. Officials then plan to present a first draft to the state Security Roundtable in December, where it will be reviewed before moving toward taking effect during 2026.