Chichén Itzá’s New Visitors Center Fails To Impress in Just About Every Way
Chichén Itzá, Mexico’s most visited archaeological site, reopened June 1 after an unprecedented 13‑day closure caused by a bitter dispute over the relocation of hundreds of vendors and artisans.
At the center of the conflict is the new Centro de Atención a Visitantes (CATVI), a 40-acre visitor complex built for 794.2 million pesos (roughly US$41 million) as part of the infrastructure for the Mayan Train.
The CATVI was intended to centralize visitor access, expand parking, and lure vendors out of the archaeological zone. Yet just weeks after it started operating, the facility has become a symbol of failed policy and poor design.
A Marketplace That Nobody Wants
At the heart of the CATVI is a handicraft market with 962 commercial spaces, designed to accommodate the 662 artisans registered in the official 2025 census. According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), 262 of those vendors (39%) have agreed to relocate.
The remaining 400 have refused, demanding that the old entrance be kept open and citing lost sales and disagreement with the new operating conditions.
As a result, around 60% of the market spaces remain empty. The concrete stalls were built on open ground, with no protection from the sun or rain, and without even electrical outlets.
Vendors interviewed said the facilities were “puestos amontonados” (crammed together) with long distances that would hurt both their sales and the visitor experience. One artisan summed up the feeling: “They want to force the tourist to walk 1.5 kilometers there and another 1.5 back, and then keep walking to make purchases.”
The empty stalls are not merely a result of vendor stubbornness. They are largely a consequence of the CATVI’s layout.
Visitors entering the complex must turn right to buy tickets and access the site. Half of the market stands lie in the opposite direction, requiring a deliberate detour. Those stands, predictably, remain empty. The design ensures that the vendors who most need foot traffic are placed where foot traffic does not naturally go.
Despite efforts by the government to limit the number of vendors at the site, at times, they seem to outnumber tourists.Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
The seldom-visited onsite at Chichén Itzá is certainly worth visiting, but a lack of signage and concrete design is keeping people away.Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
One of the central objectives of the new visitors center was to connect Chichén Itzá with its Tren Maya station. In this, it succeeds, even if few people arrive at the site via train.Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
Through the new visitors center entrance, the first structures one can see at Chichén Itzá are those at the mouth of the well of the Grand Cenote. Though important to the history of the site, they are not exactly iconic in the same way that the famous Temple of Kukulcán.Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
Tensions between vendors and the government continue to simmer at Chichén Itzá as another showdown seems inevitable.Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
Too Much Cement, Too Little Shade
Complaints about the CATVI extend far beyond the vendor dispute. Workers at the site and visitors alike have criticized the facility as ill‑conceived.
The market consists of little more than concrete shells on a grid tightly packed across a cement floor with no tree cover. Under the punishing Yucatán heat, the plaza becomes extremely hot during the day.
When it rains, the roofs leak. One report described the design as having “no protection from the inclemencies of sun and rain”. The artisans and guides interviewed at Chichén Itzá repeated the sentiment that the design of the CATVI did not take into consideration the needs of artisans, guides, or tourists.
A Long Walk Through a Vendor Gauntlet
The new access route has also drawn criticism. Visitors now walk from the CATVI to the main plaza along a path that passes behind the Sacred Cenote and stretches nearly a mile. That walk is almost entirely lined with vendors. Rather than reducing the commercial clutter inside the archaeological zone, the new arrangement has simply moved much of it to the approach.
And once visitors actually enter the site, the number of vendors appears to be larger than ever. One report estimated that more than 1,000 vendors are now operating on the grounds of Chichén Itzá. The government’s promise that “no new street vendors will be allowed into the zone under any circumstances” has not been fulfilled.
Parking: Expanded but More Expensive than Ever
One of the few acknowledged benefits of the CATVI is its expanded parking lot. The new parking lot offers 517 spaces. That is a significant increase from the old parador. But the convenience comes at a price.
The parking costs 125 pesos for cars and motorcycles, 150 pesos for vans, and 200 pesos for buses. Several travel guides and websites now list the fee as 120 pesos. Either way, what was once free or cheap parking has become another charge for visitors.
The expanded parking, along with the walkable connection to the Tren Maya station, were the primary reasons the CATVI was built in the first place. But the station is still not fully integrated into the visitor experience, and the promised boost in arrivals has yet to materialize.
A Museum That Almost Nobody Visits
The CATVI also houses the Gran Museo de Chichén Itzá, which opened back in 2024 and features nearly 1,000 original artifacts uncovered during the Maya Train’s construction. Yet fewer than 1% of visitors to Chichén Itzá are finding their way to it. This is a shame since the museum itself really is quite good and home to many fascinating artifacts.
The lack of attendance at the museum at Chichén Itzá has much to do with a lack of signs that point to its existence, even though it is a short walk from the ticketing booths. The museum was intended to offer a deeper educational experience, but without proper signage or promotion, it remains largely unknown to the crowds that pass through the CATVI every day.
Falling Ticket Sales at Chichén Itzá
The conflict and the new access arrangements have taken a measurable toll on attendance. Chichén Itzá attracted 984,119 visitors in the first half of 2026, a 13.8% decline compared with the same period in 2025. In May 2026, the month of the closure, the site saw only 104,117 visitors, a 35% monthly drop.
That was enough for Teotihuacán to overtake Chichén Itzá as Mexico’s most visited archaeological site, at least temporarily. Daily visitor numbers, which had averaged between 7,000 and 9,000, fell sharply during the shutdown. Although June showed some recovery with 161,011 visitors, that figure was still slightly below June 2025.
Bad Policy, Bad Design
The problems at Chichén Itzá are the result not only of bad policy but also of bad design. The CATVI was built without input from the public. The architects, Quesnel Arquitectos, designed a facility that looks modern on paper but fails in practice. Simply put, too much cement, too little shade, a layout that strands vendors, and an access route that forces visitors to walk a mile each way past more vendors than ever, just to enter the site in the first place.
The government insists that the old entrance is closed permanently and that the relocation to the CATVI will continue. But with 60% of the market empty, more vendors inside the site than ever, and with attendance falling, the CATVI has not solved the problems it was built to address. It has merely moved them to a larger, more expensive stage.
Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht, PhD, is a journalist, photographer, and expedition leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada, and Norway. Most recently, he earned a doctorate in Heritage Studies in 2026.
