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Tulum seems to be on everybody’s lips recently, as the stunning area located on the southeastern peninsula of Mexico has seen an impressive growth period through the building of new infrastructure such as Tulum Airport and the Maya Train.
These two highly anticipated projects are expected to bring in huge numbers of tourists, with Tulum Airport acting as a much-needed overspill location for Cancun Airport and the Maya Train looking to connect visitors all throughout the Yucatán Peninsula — with Tulum as one of its many destinations.
While this is great news for the municipality as a whole, as well as for international tourists, this does not come without some challenges.
David Ortiz Mena, president of the Tulum Hotel Association, highlighted that the accelerated growth of the area must be prepared for, with a focus on sustainability efforts that benefit the community as a high priority.
Though Tulum looks to exceed growth by 22% this year, this has a knock-on effect, specifically with security challenges for the destination.
The ever-growing popular area did find itself in the headlines only a few months ago, with crime rates seeming to be rising exponentially at popular cultural and historical sites.
Luckily, local authorities swiftly intervened with increased security measures such as extra patrols and the installation of more CCTV, but more visitors are forecast to arrive in Tulum looking for a slice of paradise, so too do rising crime rates.
With that being said, the rates have considerably improved since the beginning of the year, with most cases occurring between criminal groups and not among tourists specifically.
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New Tulum Airport
Many exciting announcements came last week when Aeromexico announced its inaugural scheduled flights departing from the United States and Canada beginning this December.
Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport will be welcoming flights from Toronto, San Francisco, and Chicago just in time for winter vacation time, which is considered one of the busiest times of the year for tourists visiting the Riviera Maya.
The airport has been built in order to take off some of the heat from Cancun Airport, which currently sees a total of over 500 flights a day, and is expected to quickly become the second-most popular option for national and international tourists coming to the Mexican Caribbean.
As more airlines such as VivaAerobus announce their own flights to the airport, Tulum is expected to be inundated with passengers looking to see what this upcoming trendy city has to offer come December.
New Maya Train
This infrastructure megaproject is one of the most exciting projects the Mexican Caribbean has been preparing for and looks to take passengers around the stunning Riviera Maya and the Yucatán Peninsula, bringing even more tourists to the city of Tulum.
Not only will there be visitors who have booked to stay specifically in Tulum for their vacations, but now groups of tourists will arrive every two hours from the train, looking for a day trip to experience the stunning city.
Tulum is also host to some spectacular archaeological sites that have been attracting tourists more in recent years.
Not only does the area offer incredible beaches and typical vacation luxury, but also offers a glimpse into the Ancient Maya period that the Mexican Caribbean is so well known for.
Now, with the new Maya Train, this incredible feat of engineering is looking to offer a unique first look at the historical surroundings and is sure to bring ever-growing numbers of tourists to the location.
The Future Of Tulum
In theory, if Tulum sees this continued growth throughout the next year, not only will it make the area abundantly improved for visitors who come to the city, but will also improve the lives of locals, offering more lucrative job opportunities and increased safety in areas that had once previously seen concerning rates of crime.
Hopefully, David Ortiz Mena has his wish granted, and the community of Tulum can rise to the challenges and opportunities that increased tourism brings to their beautiful city and ensures that it is sustainable and beneficial for all.
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