The cost to enter Jaguar Park in Tulum, Mexico, has risen sharply, and that — combined with it being operated by the military — is blamed for a sharp drop in tourism there this year. File Photo by Alonso Cupul/EPA
Empty beaches, shuttered restaurants and a hotel occupancy rate barely reaching 49%, compared with 66.7% during the same period in 2024 reflect the worst tourism season for Tulum, Mexico, in the past decade.
What was a global icon of alternative tourism and eco-luxury only a few years ago faces an unprecedented drop in visitors, driven by soaring prices, record levels of sargassum, rising crime and disputes over beach access.
One of its main attractions, the archaeological zone, received nearly 75,000 visitors in September last year. This year, just 18,000 travelers came, according to Mexico’s Tourism Secretariat.
Tulum is a coastal city about two hours south of Cancún by car. Known for its electronic music festivals, stunning beaches and bohemian vibe, it has been one of the Mexican Caribbean’s top tourist destinations over the past decade.
Tulum Mayor Diego Castañón acknowledged the difficult situation and announced measures to reverse the trend, including free access to all 25 public beach access points and an agreement with hotel and transportation associations to lower rates during the slow season.
However, the measures come too late for many local business owners. Along the streets and in artisan markets, about half of all shops have closed and hundreds of families now depend on tourists who no longer arrive. Rising prices and other issues are citied for driving away domestic visitors who traditionally booked hotels during the slow season.
The Riviera Maya, which includes Tulum, received 12.2 million tourists in 2024, including 9.7 million international visitors and 2.5 million domestic travelers, according to consulting firm The Talks, cited by Expansión. The number will be far lower this year.
The issue deepened after the inauguration in September 2024 of Jaguar Park, which was launched by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Since January, it has been managed by the Mexican Army, which now controls access to one of the municipality’s most iconic public beaches.
As a result, a family of four went from paying 500 Mexican pesos, or about $30, to 1,400 pesos, or about $75, to access the archaeological site and coastal area.
“They privatized the beaches,” said Víctor Espinoza, president of a local artisans’ cooperative, in an interview with ADN Noticias. He said daily visitors had dropped from 15,000 to fewer than 500.
In addition, municipal authorities have imposed new restrictions at access points: visitors may not bring food, drinks or umbrellas and must buy exclusively from authorized vendors. According to the local government, the policy aims to boost beach businesses, but critics say it reinforces an exclusionary model.
Beyond the immediate crisis, experts warn the situation exposes the limits of a development model built on unplanned growth.
During the pandemic, Tulum and the rest of Mexico had few health restrictions. Travelers could arrive by air and move freely, triggering a construction boom that began in 2021.
But the real-estate and hotel expansion over the last several years has overwhelmed the region’s water, waste and power systems, causing pollution in cenotes, mangroves and offshore discharge points.
Governance problems, corruption allegations and rising violence — including the killing of Municipal Security Secretary José Roberto Rodríguez — have also damaged the destination’s image.
The attack, which occurred in March, marked a turning point in perceptions of safety in the area. The killing, attributed to criminal groups in retaliation for police operations, revealed institutional weakness and the growing presence of organized crime.
Since then, business owners and tourists have reported increased fear, and violence has discouraged visitors and deepened Tulum’s economic and reputational crisis.
