The business chamber Coparmex Riviera Maya has joined a citizen-led Change.org petition demanding the administrative separation of Parque del Jaguar from the Tulum Archaeological Zone, citing rising access costs and a measurable drop in visitor flow.
The initiative, titled "¡Tulum no se vende ni se encierra! Separación inmediata del Parque del Jaguar de la Zona…," is gathering digital signatures to pressure federal authorities into restructuring how the tourism corridor around the ruins is operated.
The endorsement from Coparmex elevates what began as a community petition into a coordinated push backed by organized business voices. It opens a new front in the dispute over how one of Mexico's most visited heritage sites is operated.
What the Parque del Jaguar petition is asking for
The signatories present three core demands. They want Parque del Jaguar separated administratively from the archaeological zone. They want independent access points restored. And they want conditions that are more accessible for both visitors and the workers who depend on tourist flow.
According to the document published on Change.org, the current arrangement has made visiting the ruins more expensive and more restrictive for domestic and international travelers. The organizers argue that the integration of the park and the archaeological site has created bottlenecks that did not exist before the new model took effect.
The complaint is operational, but the demand is structural. The petition does not ask for a fee adjustment or a logistical fix. It asks for a clean administrative split.
Coparmex Riviera Maya joins the call
The president of Coparmex Riviera Maya publicly endorsed the separation, framing it as a necessary correction to a pricing structure that has cut into business activity across the destination.
"We believe Parque del Jaguar should be separated from the Tulum Archaeological Zone. The price has increased significantly, and that has affected many operators, artisans, and businesses throughout Tulum."
The business leader confirmed that the chamber will bring the demand directly before the relevant authorities, with the stated goal of identifying mechanisms to restore tourism activity and reduce the economic strain on the municipality.
Sargassum and pricing as compounding pressures
The Coparmex president described the park's effect as a second blow stacked on top of the economic pressure already created by sargassum along the coast. He identified the increase in access costs as the central driver behind the recent drop in visitor flow.
Businesses and merchants, he said, have absorbed a significant decline in tourist arrivals, a situation that hits revenue and operations across multiple economic sectors at once.
Who is behind the citizen initiative
The Change.org petition is being promoted by groups that have historically depended on the flow of visitors toward the Mayan city. Among them are artisans, merchants, transport operators, tourism workers, and small businesses located along the routes that traditionally led to the ruins.
These groups describe themselves as voices that have been left out of the decisions shaping the area. They argue that years of participation in Tulum's tourism economy have not translated into a seat at the table when the operational rules of the destination were redrawn.
Questions over Grupo Mundo Maya
The petition explicitly questions the role of Grupo Mundo Maya, the entity overseeing the administration of the tourism area. The organizers contend that the decisions made under its management do not reflect the input of those who built the economic ecosystem around the site over decades.
That criticism touches a nerve that has been present in Quintana Roo since federal infrastructure projects redefined how flagship destinations are run. The dispute is not only about prices or logistics. It is about who gets to decide what tourism in Tulum looks like.
The accountability question
The organizers stop short of naming individuals, but the document frames the situation as a failure of consultation. By demanding administrative separation, the signatories are also demanding a more visible chain of responsibility for what happens inside the park and at its access points.
Economic concerns from local workers
The promoters of the citizen petition link their demand to a broader pattern of complaints involving access restrictions, higher costs, reduced mobility, and a drop in economic activity near the park and the beaches of the Tulum National Park.
For artisans selling handmade goods, for guides offering tours, and for transport workers who once moved a steady stream of visitors toward the entrances, the impact is described as immediate and measurable. Fewer tourists reaching the historic surroundings of the ruins, the organizers say, means fewer customers reaching the small businesses that line the approach.
The petition frames the situation as a threat to a local economy that grew around the archaeological zone long before the park was conceived.
Coparmex Riviera Maya has announced it will formally present the demand to the relevant authorities, while the Change.org petition continues to collect signatures. No formal statement from Grupo Mundo Maya or from federal tourism authorities has addressed the demands so far.
Local observers expect the pressure to grow as the high tourism season approaches and the economic stakes for affected workers become harder to ignore. The convergence of organized business and citizen voices changes the political weight of the conversation.
The outcome will depend on whether the demand translates into a federal-level dialogue. For now, the alignment between Coparmex and the petition's organizers stands as the most coordinated public challenge yet to the model that governs one of the most recognizable destinations in the Mexican Caribbean.
Do you think Parque del Jaguar and the Tulum Archaeological Zone should be managed separately? Join the conversation and share your perspective with us on Instagram and Facebook at @thetulumtimes.