Overview
- The Tren Maya company formalized a one-year, non-exclusive license with Cervecería de Yucatán to develop, produce and sell a branded “Cerveza Artesanal Tren Maya,” a contract the company says was signed on June 11.
- Tren Maya has stated it does not physically produce the beer and that the licensing deal lets a private brewer manufacture and distribute the product for sale on trains and at stations.
- The train-restaurant service called “Janal” was promoted as the beer's main outlet but Tren Maya says Janal has not begun commercial operations and its operating scheme is still being defined.
- Local hoteliers, restaurateurs and a state deputy say the military-run Grupo Mundo Maya already controls multiple tourism links and that adding branded products and services creates unfair competition that threatens small businesses, a claim that includes reported occupancy drops that are not independently verified.
- Reporters note the broader context is a larger Sedena-managed tourism network that runs airports, hotels, parks and museums, and the dispute now turns on how and where the Tren Maya services will be rolled out and what that will mean for regional revenue and jobs.