A dispute over who gets to work at Mexico’s most-visited archaeological site ended in a quick reversal this weekend, after 121 certified tour guides from the community of Pisté were abruptly cut off when the long-awaited Chichén Itzá Visitor Center opened its doors Friday.
The new facility, known as the Catvi — Centro de Atención a Visitantes — launched March 27, just ahead of Semana Santa. When it did, Yucatán’s state tourism authority, Cultur, notified guides that only 55 of the 176 accredited members of the Confederación de Guías Nativos would be permitted to work inside the archaeological zone. The other 121 were out, with no clear explanation and despite prior agreements that their work arrangements would be respected during the transition.
The guides didn’t wait long to push back. They organized a march from the community of Pisté, walking more than two kilometers to the site entrance on Friday, the same day the Catvi opened. By Sunday, Cultur had reversed the decision entirely.
Luis Armando Chay Flores, the confederation’s representative, said the agency notified the group that all 176 accredited members would be allowed to continue offering guide services at Chichén Itzá.
“After the protest we held to show our disagreement, they allowed all of us guides to provide services,” Chay Flores said. “We are all properly accredited, we are prepared to provide services, we have passed all the exams and requirements that the authorities ask so that we can serve tourists.”
The guides are from Pisté, a small town at the edge of the archaeological zone. For many families there, guiding tourists through the ancient Mayan city is the primary source of income. Had the 55-permit limit held, more than 120 families would have lost their livelihoods heading into one of the busiest tourism weeks of the year. The confederation is one of several guide groups operating at the site — roughly 400 certified guides in total work Chichén Itzá across different associations.
The Catvi has been years in the making. It’s part of the Tren Maya infrastructure program and is designed to bring order to what has long been a chaotic mix of vendors, artisans, and guides competing for tourist attention inside one of the world’s most celebrated archaeological sites. The new center includes a museum, Inah offices, a Fonart store, and commercial space. Under the new system, tourists now enter Chichén Itzá through the Catvi and walk past the sacred cenote before reaching El Castillo, a route that is longer than the previous entrance and has already drawn complaints from visitors arriving in the heat.
Not everyone is happy with how the transition is playing out. Artisans who sell crafts inside the zone have flatly refused to relocate to the Catvi, arguing the new layout pushes them to the back of the facility while large commercial operators get prime spots near the entrance. Many have worked in the zone for decades, some inheriting their stalls from parents or grandparents. Ninety-five percent of them have reportedly refused to sign the transfer agreement.
Artisan Teresa Díaz put it plainly: the Catvi was not designed with them in mind.
The conflict has a long history. Chichén Itzá draws more than two million visitors a year, a number expected to grow as the Tren Maya brings more traffic to the region. That volume has created pressure to modernize the site’s commercial and visitor infrastructure — but also raised the stakes for the hundreds of indigenous community members whose economic lives depend on tourist foot traffic. A 2016 assessment by the New7Wonders Foundation, which had granted Chichén Itzá its status as one of the wonders of the modern world, urged Mexican authorities to relocate vendors as a condition of maintaining the distinction, adding institutional pressure behind the overhaul.
Previous disputes at the site have escalated into road blockades that kept tens of thousands of tourists away. A similar standoff in early 2023 shut access for 10 days before authorities reached an agreement. Guides have also long complained about unfair treatment inside the zone, including allegations that they were pressured to hand over a share of earnings to access clients.
The Catvi opening, timed just before Semana Santa, keeps the pressure high. Chay Flores said the confederation will continue watching to make sure the rights of all service providers at the site are respected. The artisans’ situation remains unresolved.
For tourists visiting in the coming days, the site is open and guides are working.
Fast Facts
- Chichén Itzá receives more than two million visitors annually, making it Mexico’s most-visited archaeological site.
- The Catvi (Centro de Atención a Visitantes) opened March 27, 2026, just before Semana Santa.
- Under the new layout, tourists enter through the Catvi and pass the sacred cenote before reaching El Castillo.
- Approximately 400 certified guides across several associations work at Chichén Itzá; 176 of them belong to the Confederación de Guías Nativos.
- The Catvi is part of the broader Tren Maya infrastructure program.
- A 10-day road blockade by vendors and community members in January 2023 prevented an estimated 70,000 tourists from reaching the site.
- The New7Wonders Foundation, which recognized Chichén Itzá as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, had previously urged authorities to relocate vendors as a condition of maintaining the distinction.
Sources: PorEsto, El Grillo de Yucatán, Diario de Yucatán, El Universal