In a way, Del Valle says, as a former tour guide, he was part of the problem. Bacalar, just south of Quintana Roo"s popular tourist spots Cancun, Tulum and Playa del Carmen, was attracting close to 100,000 tourists a season in recent years. And local operators have cashed in. "We were making advertisements and publicity to make that place more famous and popular, knowing that it doesn"t have the infrastructure, the plans, the project, to protect the lagoon," he said.