Tourists who misbehave during a vacation in Mexico have forced officials to close one of the country’s most popular archeological sites for the Easter holidays.
According to the Associated Press, officials in Mexico plan to close Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula from April 1 to 4 in hopes of curbing the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s sad to see how undisciplined everything has been,” said Lucio Hernandez Gutierrez, acting police chief of Quintana Roo, a state with hotspots such as Tulum, Cancun and Cozumel. He pointed to tourists as the worst offenders, saying: “It was really unpleasant to see hundreds of people walking without masks.”
Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya. It is currently the second most visited archaeological site in Mexico, which usually attracts about two million visitors a year. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular day trips for visitors to Cancun, one of the limited vacation spots open to travelers from the United States right now.
Mexican officials closed the Chichen Itza facility in early 2020 as the world closed its borders and major attractions to contain the coronavirus pandemic. In September, Chichen Itza reopened with capacity restrictions, temperature checks and requirements for face masks.