Tulum Hotel Occupancy Hits Historic Low of 15%

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo’s tourism secretary has admitted that hotel occupancy in Tulum has plunged to 15 percent, the lowest level in the destination’s history, as the region struggles with an unusually heavy sargasso season and reduced airline capacity.

Tourism Secretary Bernardo Cueto Riestra said Playa del Carmen is recording occupancy of 30 percent, but described the overall downturn as a wake-up call for the industry, particularly for hotels and the wider tourism service chain.

Cueto said the visitor slump stems from two factors: an atypical influx of sargasso seaweed that has affected beaches and altered conditions that national and international travelers traditionally expect, and airlines cutting some frequencies to the Mexican Caribbean because of higher fuel costs. That has reduced flight availability and, in turn, the number of tourists reaching Quintana Roo’s destinations.

The situation is especially worrying in Tulum, which in recent years had become one of the state’s premier tourist attractions. The low occupancy is already having direct consequences on hotel operations: some properties have chosen to close temporarily, while others have announced changes to their operating schedules and are working only during higher-demand seasons, Cueto said.

In late July, the independent monitoring platform Sargasso Monitor reported that 11 beaches in Quintana Roo had excessive levels of the macroalgae, with Mahahual and Tulum’s tourist areas among the most affected.