Playa del Carmen’s effort to reorder street commerce has now reached a larger scale in the tourist core. Municipal officials say more than 250 vendors have been removed from Fifth Avenue and nearby areas, with talks involving vendor groups and independent sellers. The numbers point to a wider review of who may use public space, how permits are being checked, and where enforcement could continue as the city focuses on high-traffic corridors in the weeks ahead.
Playa del Carmen removes vendors from Fifth Avenue area
Playa del Carmen officials say more than 250 street vendors have been removed from Quinta Avenida, or Fifth Avenue, and nearby tourist areas as part of a municipal effort to reorder public space. Julián Lara, the city’s director of Fiscalización y Cobranza, said the work has focused first on the city’s tourist core, which was designated one of nine priority zones for enforcement.
Lara said more than 100 vendor-occupied spaces were freed on Quinta Avenida. In other parts of the central tourist area, including the zone known as “del Velo” toward the federal highway, officials reported about 150 additional removals.
According to Lara, the removals have been carried out mainly through agreements and talks with vendor unions and independent merchants. He said the city has tried to avoid confrontations while moving vendors out of the busiest public areas.
Permit review runs alongside removals
The current removals follow a broader permit review. In April, Vallarta Daily reported that Playa del Carmen was preparing to cancel up to 1,800 street vendor permits as officials worked to update the municipal registry before May.
That review identified about 1,800 vendors in the municipality, compared with a historic base of roughly 3,200 permits, according to a Heraldo de México Quintana Roo report citing Lara. The same report said the process was designed to update locations, business activities, and permit records for vendors operating in public areas, including Quinta Avenida and the city center.
NewsDay Caribe reported earlier in May that municipal attention was focused on Primera Avenue, 10th Avenue, Quinta Avenida, and the downtown area. Lara also said officials were working with vendor groups and the business sector to maintain order in the tourist zone and other parts of the municipality.
Operations expected to continue
Revista Puntual reported on May 18 that Lara said operations against unauthorized street vending would continue on Quinta Avenida and in the tourist zone, even as some merchants pursued legal challenges. He said the city would respect legal actions filed by vendors, while maintaining that the inspections were tied to municipal street-commerce rules.
Municipal officials have not described the effort as finished. Lara said more adjustments are expected in various areas of Playa del Carmen as the city continues to review public-space use in the busiest commercial and tourist corridors.
