Yucatan Governor Tours Chichen Itza Visitor Center to Improve Artisan Market Conditions

Chichen Itza, Yucatan — Yucatan Governor Joaquín Díaz Mena toured the Chichen Itza Visitor Center on Monday to oversee the relocation of local artisans to improved market spaces as part of a broader effort to organize commercial activity around the archaeological site.

The governor inspected the new areas of the Chichen Itza Artisan Market, ticket booths, fast-food zones, and children’s play areas located next to the Gran Museo de Chichen Itzá. He was accompanied by Diego Prieto Hernández, head of the Unit of Living Cultures, Intangible Heritage and Interculturality at Mexico’s federal Culture Secretariat.

During the visit, Díaz Mena supervised market stalls that will be used to regroup and relocate artisans, aiming to provide them with better access and higher foot traffic from national and international tourists visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site.

“The move to the new locations will be gradual and based on dialogue and agreements,” Díaz Mena said. “Nothing will be done by force.”

He later walked through the archaeological zone itself, greeting and listening to additional artisans. The governor agreed to hold a follow-up meeting with them to define the relocation process, which officials say will improve sales and living conditions for the local craftspeople.

Díaz Mena emphasized the importance of accelerating agreements and decisions so artisans can occupy the new stalls, which are situated in areas with greater visitor circulation.

Artisans and representatives from local organizations Herederos Mayas and Mayas de Hoy accompanied the governor during the tour, along with several state and federal officials including David Escalante Lombard, director general of the Patronato de las Unidades de Servicios Culturales y Turísticos (Cultur) in Yucatan.

Also present were Anna Goycoolea Artís, national coordinator of centers at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH); Víctor Arturo Martínez Rojas, INAH’s Yucatan representative; Miguel Ángel Buenrostro Alba, director of the Gran Museo de Chichen Itzá; and Salvador Vitelli Macías, director general of the Yucatan Institute of Entrepreneurs (IYEM).