Tulum Archaeological Site Loses Nearly 291,000 Visitors as Quintana Roo Attendance Falls

Tulum, Quintana Roo — Visitor numbers at Quintana Roo’s archaeological sites moved in sharply different directions during the first eight months of 2026, with steep declines at Tulum, Cobá and San Gervasio while Chacchoben posted a modest gain, according to the federal report on Mexico’s archaeological sites.

Tulum recorded the largest drop. The walled coastal site received 499,852 visitors from January through August, down 36.8% from 790,447 in the same period of 2025 — a loss of 290,595 people.

The trend accelerated in August, when Tulum welcomed 23,605 visitors compared with 97,501 during the same month a year earlier.

Chacchoben the only site to grow

Chacchoben, in southern Quintana Roo near the Costa Maya, was the sole site in the state to report an increase. It drew 170,437 visitors in the first eight months of the year, up 2.7% from 165,981. In August alone it received 16,612 people, above the 14,838 recorded in 2025.

Cobá tallied 130,837 visitors, a decline of 3.9% year on year, while San Gervasio on Cozumel island registered 78,356 people, down 20.7%.

Tulum still third nationwide

Nationally, Chichén Itzá in Yucatán remained Mexico’s most visited archaeological site with 1,338,700 visitors between January and August, despite a 13.4% annual decline. Teotihuacán, in the State of Mexico, ranked second with 1,057,601 visitors, 8.6% fewer than in 2025.

Tulum held third place nationally among the sites in the report, though its decline was far steeper than those of the two leaders.

Across all sites included in the statistics, attendance totaled 6,204,283 in the first eight months of 2026, compared with 6,915,681 in the same period of 2025 — a drop of 711,398 visitors, or 10.3%.