Mexico's National Association of Travel Agencies will hold its annual assembly in Tulum on June 2, bringing representatives from across the country to a destination grappling with one of its worst economic downturns in recent memory. The gathering marks a direct outcome of negotiations made in Madrid in January, and local tourism leaders say it could be the starting point for a structural recovery plan.
The assembly was secured through an agreement reached at FITUR, the international tourism fair held in Madrid in January 2025. Mario Cruz Rodríguez, the tourism representative for Tulum, negotiated with AMAV president Levi William to bring the national summit to the municipality. That a destination currently struggling to fill hotels and restaurants managed to land a national industry event is itself a signal that local leadership is working to project confidence outward, even as internal conditions remain difficult.
A Recovery Plan Taking Shape
Cruz Rodríguez described the assembly's central purpose as the launch of a comprehensive tourism promotion strategy tailored specifically to Tulum. "It's practically a made-to-measure suit," he said, referring to the level of specificity being built into the plan.
Developing that plan required months of coordination. Cruz Rodríguez said his team has held talks with the federal Secretariat of Tourism and the Secretariat of Economy, and that Mexican embassies abroad are being incorporated to help position what he called the "Made in Tulum" brand in international markets.
On the air connectivity side, Cruz Rodríguez said efforts are underway to bring Mexicana de Aviación, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris into the strategy through preferential fares that would lower the cost of flying to Tulum and drive visitor volumes. The airport, he noted, already has information kiosks in place to promote the destination to arriving travelers. June 1, the day before the assembly, was set as the date to begin formally activating the project.
The Pricing Problem
Cruz Rodríguez was direct about one of the central structural problems he believes is holding Tulum back: pricing that does not match the market. He argued that some businesses are charging rates that cannot be sustained across a full calendar year, because they are calibrated only for peak-season international visitors.
His position is that the destination needs to reorient around a client who can visit year-round, and that doing so requires a uniform adjustment in prices across hotels, restaurants, and services. "There are businesses in Playa del Carmen that can justify higher rates because they have the infrastructure to back it up," he said. Tulum, in his view, has not yet earned that pricing structure across the board.
The argument is not that Tulum should permanently lower its sights. Cruz Rodríguez said the longer-term goal remains attracting higher-spending visitors from markets with greater purchasing power. But he was clear that reaching those markets requires first getting the basics right: competitive pricing, consistent quality, and a product that can stand up to scrutiny in international promotion campaigns.
A Shared Responsibility
Cruz Rodríguez framed the recovery effort as something no single institution or sector can accomplish alone. He specifically acknowledged Jorge Alberto Portilla Manica for joining the initiative, and called on all stakeholders to participate.
His list of who needs to be involved was broad: the federal government, the state government, the municipal government, business owners, taxi drivers, and police officers. On that last point, he was explicit. Tourists arriving in Tulum need to feel protected, he said, and law enforcement has a direct role in whether that happens.
"We need to clean house first," Cruz Rodríguez said, describing the current moment as one that requires reorientation before the destination hits bottom. He expressed confidence that a unified effort could pull Tulum out of its current crisis, but was equally clear that the alternative, continued fragmentation and inaction, was not a viable path. The assembly on June 2 is where that unified effort is supposed to begin.
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