Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) (WS) tourism in Quintana Roo of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico has grown rapidly, generating nearly a million USD annually and providing a substantial number of jobs for the local economy. With increasing numbers of tourists, the Mexican government has developed WS Management Plans and associated codes of conduct to better manage the WS tourism industry in the region. The goals of this study are to evaluate current policies and practices associated with WS tourism in Mexico, and to provide tools for policymakers, conservationists, and tourism stakeholders to foster sustainable WS ecotourism We also present a case study evaluating regulatory compliance of WS ecotourism operations in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Using video footage collected by drones in August 2016 and August 2022, we found that the density of WS in the study area was lower in 2022 compared with 2016. Due to lower number of WS, boats and swimmers surrounded WS at greater concentrations in 2022. Between 2016 and 2022, the frequency boat violations related to approach distances increased threefold; yet frequency of swimmer violations related to approach distances remained nearly the same. Despite this, the frequency of WS touching violations by swimmers doubled. Although the presence of a enforcement patrol boat in 2022 probably led to a decrease in boat distance violations, swimmers appeared to be unaffected by their presence. There was a significant and positive relationship between the frequency of boat violations (per min) and the number of boats, swimmers, and WS. There was a significant positive relationship between the frequency of swimmer violations (per min) and the number of swimmers. In 2022, there was no differences in the frequency of boat distance violations when the patrol boat was present. To reduce the number of violations in the WS tourism industry, we suggest 1) limiting the number of boats and swimmers engaged with whale sharks each day; 2) increasing enforcement and monitoring (e.g., with drones) of boat and swimmer-WS interactions; and 3) increase tourist outreach efforts on the codes of conduct when swimming with WS.