I like to differentiate between a tourist and a traveler.

A tourist comes and pretty much is looking for the same that has back home and what I conceptualize as a traveler is someone that comes and cares about the culture, the nature, wants to get to know what's happening there.

Tourism has changed so much about Tulum, sometimes in ways we cannot see.

I realize because of all the changes happening it was important to organize.

I feel responsible to do something.

My name is Carla Acevedo, I'm the president of Tulum Sostenible.

We bring awareness to conscious travel in Tulum.

A lot of the problems that we have is the lack of planning, the lack of infrastructure for the quantity of people that is living here and coming to visit.

Now there is a new airport in Tulum and a new train connecting us to Cancun.

What happens is people continue coming and then you have more people living here, more people consuming products that are going to create waste.

So we were meeting with people from different backgrounds to think about the problems but more than thinking about the problems, thinking about solutions.

We are on top of the largest underground fresh water system in the world and it's being polluted by improper waste management, especially from tourist lodgings.

The problem is not tourism, the problem is how we do tourism.

I'm Gonzalo Merediz, I'm the director of Amigos de Siancan, a local NGO.

We promote the sustainable development through nature conservation in this region of Mexico.

Right now we are in a biosphere reserve, in the Siancan Biosphere Reserve, World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO, a very important place, like 1.5 million acres of land and an ocean protected by the Mexican government.

If you don't have infrastructure to treat the water, the water with pollution is going to continue going to the underground river system.

People diving or swimming in the cenotes now are getting sick from the water.

The pollution that's affecting these lakes, and even the cenotes, is directly related to improper water treatment.

It's important to bring solutions to people so that we can start dealing with different issues.

For example, waste management and energy.

Energy is a huge challenge in Tulum because, again, the infrastructure is very behind.

For many years those hotels were running on diesel and gasoline.

Another problem is that we do not have a sewer system in Tulum.

You have to do your own treatment plant or system in your business.

It's really important because part of the beach area is off-grid, so it's a responsibility for every hotel, every business, to treat their own water.

This is the main part of our water treatment that we have, and we have the whole rest of the treatment plant on the other side.

There's a lot of greenwashing that happens, but having a biologist on staff makes sure that what we are doing is actually what it says it is.

Tulum is not just sun and beach, parties, music.

Tulum also has this cultural part.

It's the Mayan culture.

My name is Juan Canuta. I'm from Tulum.

I'm a biologist and director of the company La Selva al Mar.

This is a consultant who is in charge of advising the tourist sector, the government and communities on the issue of sustainability.

I have the good fortune that my blood is Mayan.

We are here in the town of Cobá, in the municipality of Tulum.

It's a place where you can find out about the Mayan culture, as well as you can find different dishes, the gastronomy of Tulum. We're standing here in Mayan land, and there is a lot of knowledge and a lot of beautiful traditions that we can learn from them.

This is a place where you will find a family that shares and opens the doors of their home to get to know them.

Three tips for a tourist to come to Tulum is to go to places that can really ensure that they are sustainable, know the Mayan culture and respect destiny.

I'm optimistic.

We believe in a complement, in a healthy balance and harmony, that you can have everything.

When we come together as a community to follow a vision, to follow an idea, to follow a project and how many powerful things can happen.