In the meantime, before travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, Del Valle says it is up to the local tourism operators to save the crystalline lagoon – the largest in the Yucatan Peninsula. Del Valle has approached many of the operators surrounding the lagoon to help make their tourism offerings more sustainable. "The locals, they own all the motorboats in the lagoon, they are in the hundreds. I have talked several times with many of them to persuade them," he said. "I offered them, for free, to train them to do paddle tours, to do sailing tours, things that don"t affect the lagoon."