Tulum, Q.R. — A decline in tourism has been felt in an overall decrease in visitor numbers to the state’s archaeological zones. Overall visitor numbers to the state’s sites fell by 10 percent in 2025. Compared to 2024, last year’s figures were less despite the opening of the Ichkabal archaeological site in Tulum.
According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) December 2025 statistics, 1,605,491 people visited the state’s archaeological sites, a figure far from the 3.4 million before the pandemic.
During 2025, the municipality of Tulum accounted for around 60 percent of site visits, with 980,219 recorded as of the end of December. This is followed at a considerable distance by Chacchoben with 220,644 visits and Cobá, a site reopened last year, where 171,108 visitors were counted.
The INAH said that the Ichkabal Archaeological Zone, which opened in January of 2025, received 38,000 visitors, placing it in fifth place behind San Gervasio in Cozumel, with 129,000.
Their overall state visitor numbers also included two museums, the Museo Regional de la Costa Oriental in the Jaguar Park with 119,000 visitors and the Mayan Museum of Cancun with 48,000 visitors.
Although 2025 was a year of contrasts, the archaeological sites of Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan and Tulum remained the three most visited during the year.
According to visitor statistics, Chichen Itza in the state of Yucatan remained the most visited site, although it registered a 3% drop compared to 2024.
The Teotihuacan site in the State of Mexico remained in second place with a 10% increase compared to the previous year, and was the only archaeological site in the top ten most visited in Mexico to show tourism recovery with over 1.7 million visitors.
In Tulum, authorities registered a drastic 17.8% drop compared to 2024, however, it still ranked as the third most visited archaeological site in the country.
According to the INAH, of the 21.3 million tourists that visited Mexico during 2025, more than 9.8 million explored the archaeological zones.
Riviera Maya News bringing you headline news for Tulum since 2014
Your official online newspaper
