Tulum’s Tourism Crisis: Paradise Lost?

Tulum, Quintana Roo — Tulum, the great alternative of the Mexican Caribbean conceived for a high-income community, is embroiled in a tourism crisis, according to Francisco Madrid Flores, director of the Center for Advanced Research in Sustainable Tourism (STARC) at Anáhuac University.

"We are facing the case of a chronicle foretold, of a tourist destination with problems," Madrid stated. "Firstly, there is a very significant lag in urban services, in infrastructure for the population and for the tourism offering itself."

In an interview with La Silla Rota, he asserted that it is not possible to have a tourist destination positioned like Tulum, which received 2 million tourists in 2024, while municipal and urban services are weak and of poor quality.

Social Media Criticism and Declining Occupancy

Criticism of the tourist destination is multiplying on social media.

"Tulum is completely abandoned, people don't have streets, drainage, potable water… Avenida Cobá, which is the main avenue, is a dirty, poorly painted avenue with potholes. That avenue leads to the hotel zone," tourist Malu Granados explained on her X account. She stated that she spent 8 days in an Airbnb but noticed a lot of deterioration.

According to the Quintana Roo Tourism Information System, in the last five months, hotel occupancy in Tulum has contracted from 66.7% at the beginning of May to 49.2% at the start of October 2025.

In terms of tourist influx in the Mexican Caribbean, first place is led by Americans at 39.2%; followed by Mexicans at 33.9%; Canadians, 11.3%; English, 2.2%; Argentines, 1.9%; French, 1.1%; and Spanish at 1%.

Quintana Roo, led by Mara Lezama, receives 30 million visitors annually, making it the leading state in tourism revenue. It contributes 8.4% of the national tourism GDP and generates 122,486 million pesos in supplies, according to the Ministry of Tourism headed by Josefina Rodríguez Zamora.

Exorbitant Prices from Service Providers

An aspect that has hit the heart of Tulum has been the voracity of service providers, who offer food and drinks at disproportionate prices.

"There is an attitude from many, or several, tourism service providers with price abuses," Madrid Flores posited.

He explained that on social media he observed the case of a bottle of white Bacardí being sold for 10,000 pesos, which is beyond any proportion.

At Zamna Tulum, a beer costs 250 pesos; a vodka, mezcal, tequila, gin, rum, whisky each have a value of 300 pesos. A Red Bull costs 200 pesos, the same price paid for water.

In Tulum, at Tacos Papi, an order of 3 arrachera tacos costs 370 pesos; in the case of a service of three pastor tacos, they cost 200 pesos; a sirloin alambre can cost 340 pesos; a quesobirria with consommé reaches 350 pesos, or three mushroom quesadillas for 200 pesos.

Tulum Airport Loses Momentum

On December 1, 2023, during the inauguration of the "Felipe Carrillo Puerto" International Airport in Tulum, Quintana Roo, the then-president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, showcased the start of operations of the airfield, built on a two-thousand-hectare space.

Madrid Flores emphasized that the Tulum airport has been affected and has lost steam.

"Last year it functioned very well, it managed to attract significant operations both national and international; it has been declining and could be a major problem going forward," he considered.

In the week of September 27 to October 3, 2025, the Tulum airport reported 62 operations, of which 38 were national and 24 international. Flights to Tulum represent less than 5% of the total that the Cancún Airport had in the same period, which reported 1,367 airport operations, according to the Quintana Roo Tourism Information System.

Transportation Abuses and Beach Access Issues

In addition to the air sector, Madrid Flores pointed out the abuses that exist in urban transport, particularly taxis and the blockade imposed on technological applications like Uber.

"But also the aggressiveness with which taxi drivers usually act towards some taxi drivers who seek some alternative. And also with price abuses that have no justification and where there is no capacity from the authority to bring order," he stated.

The director of the Center for Advanced Research in Sustainable Tourism (STARC) explained that another case on social media is the blockage of access to the beaches and an attempted charge to be able to access them, which is unreasonable.

Context: during the week, the municipal president of Tulum, the Morenista Diego Castañón, asserted that tourists were welcome to the beaches, but they could not bring food, drinks, or umbrellas.

"The beaches are free access, obviously, all national, international, and local tourists can come visit us, at no cost. They obviously cannot come with food, drinks, coolers, or umbrellas, with nothing. If they want to consume, they have to buy here, in this great place," the local official stated, from the La Eufemia hostel on the Tulum beach.

Regarding this, Madrid Flores expressed: "the municipal authority is quite distracted and without really understanding what is happening. There is the TikTok video, where it is stated that you can go to the beaches, but you cannot bring umbrellas, food, or drinks. By the way, the municipal authority does not have legal jurisdiction over the beaches," he asserted.

The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, stated that she asked the Ministry of Tourism to address the issue in Tulum, where hoteliers prevent access to the beaches, which is illegal.

"That Tulum is maintained, which is a spectacular place, but that it is not limited to those who have economic resources," she said.

The Quintana Roo Tourism Information System reports that, at the beginning of October, the room rental system in Tulum, by tourists, is at 44%, 10 percentage points below the best destination in the area, which is Isla Mujeres.

A Call for an Integral Solution

The STARC specialist believes that the response for Tulum involves an integral solution that addresses the set of problems, requiring the participation of the federal, state, and municipal governments.

As well as ethical practices on the part of the business sector and a more active participation from the Federal Consumer Prosecutor's Office headed by César Iván Escalante Ruiz.

Over the years, Tulum consolidated itself as a great tourist alternative in the Mexican Caribbean, but in 2015, when it was named a "Pueblo Mágico," a stage of population growth and exposure of natural attractions and pre-Hispanic vestiges began.

That walled city in Mayan Culture, which has been hit by Hurricanes Gramma and Grace, whose destination was oriented towards a certain market segment with high purchasing power and which seemed to be advancing with great success, is now living a profound crisis.

"A series of events derailed that growth," concluded Francisco Madrid Flores, director of STARC, which is the academic instrument constituted to generate relevant, timely, and reliable information about the tourism industry.

Without a doubt, tourism is the heart of Tulum. A destination where 90% of its population depends on that smokeless industry.