Tulum regains 5 lost international air routes, a hopeful sign for recovery
Tulum's Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport will restore five international flight routes during the 2026-2027 winter season, signaling the first signs of recovery for a destination that has struggled with declining visitor numbers since 2025.
The airport, which opened in December 2023, will resume operations beginning in late October 2026 and continuing through March 2027. International flights will connect Tulum with four Canadian cities — Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Quebec — as well as five U.S. destinations including Newark, Houston, Dallas, Miami and Atlanta, according to Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama.
The expansion comes as part of the Tulum Renace (Rebirth of Tulum) program, a federal initiative designed to reorganize the destination, strengthen infrastructure and attract higher-value tourists. The program responds to a sharp decline in tourism that saw the airport lose eight of its 12 international routes earlier this year.
A tourism destination in crisis
The airport recorded a 34% drop in international passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2026, handling roughly 178,000 international travelers between January and April — 90,000 fewer than the same period in 2025. The facility, designed to accommodate 5.5 million passengers annually, operated at less than 25% capacity in 2025 with only 1.24 million total passengers.
The tourism crisis extended beyond air travel. Hotel occupancy in Tulum's coastal zone plummeted to around 30% in summer 2025, with town-center rates dipping as low as 15%. This represented a dramatic decline from September 2024's 66.7% occupancy rate, which fell to just 49.2% by September 2025.
Visitors to Tulum's archaeological zone dropped from nearly 75,000 in September 2024 to just 18,000 in September 2025, reflecting a 76% decline in one of the destination's main attractions.
Multiple factors behind the decline
The 2025 sargassum season contributed to tourism challenges, setting a new volume record 40% above the 2022 peak. The Mexican Caribbean experienced record amounts of seaweed reaching 37.5 million metric tons in May 2025, with Quintana Roo collecting an estimated 120,000 tons throughout the year.
Economic factors also played a role. Average hotel room rates in Tulum reached $450 per night in 2025, representing a 25% increase from 2023. The introduction of beach access fees at Parque Nacional del Jaguar, with foreigners paying 415 pesos (about $22) and Mexican nationals paying 255 pesos ($14) to access previously free beaches, sparked protests from residents and visitors.
Major airlines including United, JetBlue and Air Canada cut or suspended Tulum flights in 2025, citing weak demand.
Recovery strategy and airline incentives
Quintana Roo Tourism Minister Bernardo Cueto told specialized news outlet Aviación Online that the decline in operations reflects a broader pattern across Mexico, the Caribbean and the United States, where airlines have prioritized maintaining existing routes over opening new markets. Meanwhile, competing destination Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic mobilized over 11 million passengers at its airport in 2025, compared to Tulum's 1.2 million travelers during the same period.
The state government is launching an aggressive three-year incentive plan to attract airlines back to Tulum and secure new direct flights from the United States, Germany and Panama. The incentives include financial support and operational accommodations designed to reduce financial risk for airlines.
"We want airlines to see Tulum as a real and profitable opportunity," Cueto said.
