The Quintana Roo state government has confirmed that VISITAX, the mandatory tourist tax covering Cancun, the Riviera Maya and the rest of the state, will not increase in 2026, according to reporting on the state’s own confirmation. The tax, introduced in 2021, remains at 2.5 UMA, a Mexican inflation-linked unit of measure, which currently works out to approximately 283 to 285 Mexican pesos per person, roughly 15 US dollars at current exchange rates.

What VISITAX actually covers and who pays it

VISITAX applies statewide across Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, the wider Riviera Maya, Holbox, Isla Mujeres, Bacalar and Tulum, not just the specific resort corridor a traveler happens to be staying in. It is levied on foreign tourists under the state’s own Law of Rights and is paid separately from a hotel bill, through the official state portal, before departure. The tax applies per person, and the sources we reviewed for this article identified no stated exemption, including for children, which matches what we have previously found when researching this charge directly from Quintana Roo’s own portal.

How the payment process actually works

Travelers pay VISITAX through the state’s official online portal, entering basic identification and travel details and paying by card, which generates a confirmation, typically in the form of a QR code, that can be checked at the airport before departure. Payment is designed to be completed before leaving the state rather than on arrival, and it is worth completing it before heading to the airport on departure day rather than assuming it can be handled quickly at a kiosk under time pressure. Third-party websites that are not the official state portal sometimes appear in search results offering to process this payment for an added fee; using the official portal directly avoids paying a markup for a service the state itself provides for the base tax amount alone.

Where the money actually goes

According to the reporting reviewed for this article, VISITAX proceeds are directed toward beach maintenance, sargassum removal and tourism infrastructure across the state. That funding link is directly relevant to two of the recurring seasonal concerns we cover on this coast: sargassum accumulation on beaches, tracked separately by the University of South Florida’s Sargassum Watch System, and general beach upkeep, both of which the tax is specifically earmarked to help fund rather than simply feeding into the state’s general revenue.

Part of a wider pattern across Mexico

Quintana Roo is not alone in charging a state-level tourist tax; reporting on this topic groups it alongside Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz, Tulum specifically, and Baja California Sur as Mexican destinations that have introduced or maintained their own tourism taxes as part of a broader national trend toward state and municipal-level tourism levies. Travelers with trips planned to more than one Mexican destination in the same visit should check whether each specific state or municipality charges its own separate tax, rather than assuming a single national tourist tax applies uniformly, since the mechanism, amount and payment method can differ by state.

Why “no increase” is still worth confirming yourself

A confirmed rate for 2026 does not mean the amount will necessarily remain identical for a trip booked well into the future, since UMA-linked figures can shift with Mexico’s own inflation-linked adjustments in subsequent years, and government fee confirmations of this kind are typically issued for the current year rather than as a permanent commitment. Checking the official VISITAX portal directly close to a travel date, rather than relying on a fixed figure from an article written earlier in the year, remains the most reliable way to confirm the exact current amount before paying it.

How this fits into a trip’s total cost

VISITAX is one of two state-level charges that apply across this coast regardless of which resort a traveler books; a separate per-night environmental charge, which most operators do not publish, is the other. Our hidden costs guide covers both charges alongside the other categories of cost that commonly sit outside a headline all-inclusive rate, and our Riviera Maya overview covers how these charges apply uniformly across every locality on this coast regardless of which cluster a trip is based in.

Sources: Travel And Tour World; Vistumo, Quintana Roo VISITAX guide.