Tourist Guides claims “Failure” of Tren Maya in Valladolid

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Tourist guides from Chichén Itzá have condemned the federal government’s Tren Maya project as a “failure”, citing that since the train station opened about a month ago, they have not seen an increase in visitors as expected. The Chichén Itzá train station began operating around a month ago and has been providing a bus service to transport tourists.

According to the guides, however, fewer than 30 passengers per day arrive at the tourist site via the train, indicating that the project is not meeting expectations. It is estimated that around 4,000 tourists visit Chichén Itzá daily, but they arrive by other means of transportation such as buses and private vehicles.

When the government first announced the project, it was said that local artisans, tourist guides, and other service providers would benefit from the construction of a new Visitor Center, which includes the train station. This would supposedly increase the number of visitors to the archaeological site.

However, the opposite has happened. The new Visitor Center, which is still under construction, has not brought in more tourists as expected. According to the plan, the government had promised that the new center would boost tourism and benefit local artisans, guides, and other service providers.

But so far, the results have been disappointing. There has been no significant increase in visitors to Chichén Itzá or the nearby Maya Museum, which was inaugurated by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador a few months ago.

Even the new Visitor Center, located near the highway that connects Valladolid to Pisté, has not seen an influx of tourists. Instead, it is only workers who arrive daily to continue construction on the project. According to tourist guides, the project is over a year behind schedule and no artisans have been assigned their designated shops.

The main entrance to the archaeological site remains at the old Visitor Center, located west of the site. Visitors must still take a bus or drive along the federal highway to reach the site. The current parking lot has been insufficient for years, leading many tourists to park on the side of the road or in nearby land designated as parking spaces by local farmers.