Tulum’s New Campaign to Revamp Its Image

Tulum, Mexico — The Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council will initiate an emergency campaign for the rescue of Tulum, set to begin this Monday. The strategy aims to counteract the perception of Tulum as an elitist destination, highlighting that it offers a range of hotel and tourist services, according to David Ortiz Mena, president of the hotel association for the municipality.

Andrés Reynoso, director of the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council, stated that part of the strategy will have a cost of 3.2 million dollars and will launch on October 27. The campaign seeks to combat the image of Tulum being an exclusive destination.

“There is already an institutional campaign, which has not stopped at any time, but we are reinforcing it and we are now about to launch another campaign that we are calling a relaunch or transformation campaign,” Reynoso said.

He assured that Tulum will recover during the winter season with occupancy rates of 80 percent.

“Therefore, I believe it is a good time to refresh, to change what was wrong,” he added.

Tulum Takes Action Against Taxi Driver Abuses

For his part, the president of the Tulum Hotel Association, David Ortiz Mena, announced that they are promoting a standardized fare system for urban transportation. He noted that the municipality currently lacks clear rules regarding mobility pricing.

“We have indeed received a bad image, partly organic, partly not; but it gives us an opportunity for improvement. For example, in terms of transportation we have a lot to improve, we are trying to establish a standardized fare system. It is incredible that we do not have one,” Ortiz Mena stated.

He assured that while Tulum has always been an "aspirational" destination with high-cost hotels, they also have offerings for tourists with lower purchasing power. Therefore, he contended, it is not true that it is an elitist or unattainable destination.

Federal Government Joins the Rescue of Tulum

Just this week, the Secretary of Tourism for the Mexican government, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, conducted a second working tour of Cancún and Tulum, key destinations in the state of Quintana Roo. During the tour, she held meetings with state and municipal authorities, as well as with representatives from the tourism sector, all with the goal of boosting traveler arrivals and strengthening the promotion of these destinations.

She explained that this strategy is being developed with the participation of more than eleven federal agencies, the municipalities, and the state government. The objective is to strengthen infrastructure, organize urban development, and protect natural areas.

The meetings included the participation of hotel representatives, merchants, service providers, restaurateurs, artisans, and tourist guides from the Tulum archaeological zone, as well as from the movement for free beach access. The foundation of these meetings was to listen, dialogue, and collaboratively build solutions in favor of Quintana Roo.