Tulum: When the Experience Stops Matching What’s Sold
No single actor caused it. But no one stopped it while they were still profiting.
A Walk Through Tulum Today
On Reading Between the Lines
This wasn’t about marketing fatigue or changing travel trends.
It was about trust eroding before arrival. About a destination losing bookings quietly, long before price ever entered the conversation.
I lived in the region for over 20 years. Back when the highway to the beach was a narrow lane-and-a-half road with more bikes than cars. What’s happening now isn’t a surprise. It’s the bill that comes due when the experience stops matching what’s sold.
The New Airport, the First Signal
Tulum International Airport opened in December 2023 with fanfare. Direct flights. Headlines. A signal that growth was coming.
By late 2025, airlines were cutting service. December 2025 scheduled capacity was down more than 20% versus the year before. International arrivals fell 43.7%. Five major U.S. carriers reduced service or pulled out entirely.
For a first-time visitor booking a trip in early 2026, this doesn’t look like a crisis. It looks like friction.
On…