Sargassum Woes: Tourists Cancel Playa del Carmen Trips

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The heavy influx of sargassum seaweed at El Recodo Beach has led to up to four daily cancellations of offshore tours for aquatic activities in Playa del Carmen. This coastal stretch, where boats from various tourist and fishing cooperatives dock, has been the most affected by the seaweed accumulation.

Impact on Tourism and Operations

José Gómez Burgos, secretary of the Mar Caribe tourist cooperative, stated that tourists avoid passing through the docking area of El Recodo Beach due to the strong odor of decomposing sargassum and the difficulty of walking along the shore.

“We get about four or five cancellations daily. It’s very difficult to operate under these unstable conditions. The shoreline is damaged, and people can’t access it or board the boats. We try to adapt by boarding them elsewhere, but they still cancel because they don’t see favorable conditions for the activity,” said Gómez Burgos.

The cooperative primarily offers offshore tours for recreational fishing and other tourist activities.

Additional Risks to Equipment

Beyond the decline in tourism, boat engines—costing upwards of 20,000 pesos—are also at risk. In past sargassum seasons, these engines have suffered severe damage.

“The transmissions get damaged when passing through the sargassum. They break down, and we have to repair them,” Gómez Burgos explained.

Most Affected Area

The hardest-hit zone by the sargassum influx is the first quadrant of Playa del Carmen, where municipal workers from the Federal Maritime-Terrestrial Zone Directorate (Zofemat) are struggling to remove hundreds of tons of seaweed. Despite their efforts, the organic matter continues to pile up, burying beaches, particularly those near the city center.