Marine Park Fee Increase 2025

[JFS]

have had this conversation before. no, 5 bucks aint gonna kill anyone. but there have been a bunch of extra taxes, increased costs etc added to the cost of a trip to that island in the past few years. it all adds up. but like i always say....the power is with the consumer. as long as travelers keep ignoring these added costs and price increases and keep going there, they will just keep adding new ones.

For Canadians it is getting very expensive to come here and dive because of the sagging dollar. Lots of our Canadian divers have cut back their diving here to about 1/3 of what they normally did.

 

[macado]

have had this conversation before. no, 5 bucks aint gonna kill anyone. but there have been a bunch of extra taxes, increased costs etc added to the cost of a trip to that island in the past few years. it all adds up. but like i always say....the power is with the consumer. as long as travelers keep ignoring these added costs and price increases and keep going there, they will just keep adding new ones.

I don't disagree with your opinion. I still like going to Cozumel for the people, the food, the diving. There is a convenience factor, at least for me. At some point the costs will outweigh that and I'll simply move onto another destination. But you're right - Flights have gone up dramatically, hotels have gone up dramatically, diving, food, taxis, everything has gone up. I don't think that is unique to Cozumel but it's true Cozumel is no longer the budget destination that it used to be.

This is no where near an exhaustive list but some marine parks (outside of Mexico) charge similar fees.

Bonaire Marine Park fee is $40 per person (yearly)
Belize (Hol Chan Marine Reserve) has a fee of $15 per person
Roatan Marine Park (RMP) has a voluntary $10 fee/donation per person
In Thailand it's typically 300-500 baht ($9-$15) per person

 

[gopbroek]

Just out of curiosity, what is the increase goal/purpose? Is it to police the area; sustainability of the ecosystem; Coral restoration programs? Or just plain money in some politician's pocket?

Just plain money in some politician's pocket.
Once money gets to Mexico city it simply disappears, its magical.

 

[NDL_Diver]

We go down for 3 weeks at a clip. We used to do 16 days of diving and now cut back to 11 (getting old and $$). We are on the one on and one off schedule which givez us time to relax and sleep in. I wish they would enforce marine park rules. The "Pirate" operators (boats without permits) are allowed while ligit operators are often hosed. The poaching is unchecked (Conch shells with holes littering the bottom in some parts) is just saddening. The $$$ needs to come back and enforcement needs to change (I think their Navy is the park police or something like that).

 

[Jake 10]

Just plain money in some politician's pocket.
Once money gets to Mexico city it simply disappears, its magical.

Magical- the city or the money?

 

[gopbroek]

Magical- the city or the money?

As in a magic trick to make something disappear

 

[Brodydog]

@Jake 10 is that your dog in your profile photo? I have these 2 guys…

 

[Jake 10]

@Jake 10 is that your dog in your profile photo? I have these 2 guys…

View attachment 871094

yes that is our dog, 10 month at the time of the photo.
Yours's are cute, love them. You should post them in the puppy thread.

 

[ggunn]

another tax / cost / reason not to go there anymore

Suit yourself, but it doesn't move the needle for me. I'll be there in April.

 

[rick00001967]

true. it was not all that long ago when we were paying $25 canadian per dive (cash) when we bought a package of 20 dives.