Foreign tourists walk in downtown Merida. The Mexican Association of the sector warns that fraud against travelers is growing, and Yucatan is in third place nationally in the incidence of this crime.
The Mexican Association of the Tourism Industry of Yucatan (Amity) asked the State Congress to establish in local regulations the crime of “tourism fraud”, a serious, systematic, and growing problem that places Yucatan in third place nationally in the incidence of this crime, reported its president, Rosa Isela García Pantoja.
The business leader pointed out that, after delivering the request at the headquarters of the Legislative Branch, there is a better willingness of the deputies to attend to the request, after they met with the Tourism Commission and received information that allows them to measure the magnitude of the problem.
The president of Amity added that even the legislators offered to follow up on the approach and organize working groups with the aim of building a specific legal figure, and not continuing to attend to these cases as a common crime, as is currently the case.
The document delivered to Congress states that, based on the principles of consumer protection, legality, legal certainty, and sustainable economic development, tourism fraud directly affects the sector, which in 2024 alone registered losses of 800 million pesos and in 2025 reached 850 million.
The brief details that this type of fraud is committed by travel agencies, event organizers, ground transportation companies, sidewalk vendors, hookers, operators of tourist services, and Airbnb-type accommodations that operate outside the law.
Yucatán is in the top three most affected
The losses, more than 800 million pesos, are estimated based on projections consolidated by Mastercard at the national level, figures that place Yucatan as the third entity in the country with the greatest effects from this problem.
The association warns that, in most cases, those who commit this crime do not receive effective sanctions due to the absence of a specific classification of tourism fraud in the current regulatory frameworks, which generates legal loopholes that prevent adequate criminal and administrative prosecution.
Amity stressed that this situation already has tangible consequences in the state. In January of this year alone, at least one case of tourism fraud was documented in an established travel agency, affecting local, national, and international tourists. These facts, they indicated, not only cause patrimonial damage, but also violate consumer confidence, affect the competitiveness of the destination, and damage the tourist image of Yucatan.
Faced with this panorama, the association asked Congress for four concrete actions:
- 1) To classify tourism fraud as a specific legal figure within state legislation.
- 2) Establish severe, clear, and dissuasive criminal and administrative sanctions to prevent recidivism.
- 3) Guarantee conditions of legality, legal certainty, and fair competition for formally established companies.
- 4) Protect the economic development of tourism as a strategic activity, by contributing 16.5% of the state’s Gross Domestic Product.
Amity expressed its conviction that the criminalization of tourism fraud represents an indispensable preventive and corrective action to strengthen the rule of law, protect tourists, and consolidate Yucatan as a safe, reliable, and competitive destination at the national and international level.
Source: Diario de Yucatán
