Tulum’s Tourism Crisis: Sargassum & Media Blamed

Tulum, Mexico — Tulum Mayor Diego Castañón Trejo announced today that the Secretary of Tourism, Josefina Rodríguez Zamora, will tour the Jaguar Park tomorrow and hold an event there. The announcement was made during a press conference where Castañón was accompanied by the municipal presidents of Bacalar and José María Morelos, as well as the president of the Hotel Association, David Ortiz Mena Blanco Garrido, all of whom expressed their support for the mayor's rescue strategy.

During the press conference, part of the weekly "La Semanera" series, Diego Castañón revealed his participation in a working meeting with federal and state officials, federal deputies, and senators to address the critical tourism situation in Tulum, which he attributes to sargassum seaweed arrivals and a "negative media campaign."

"We reached very good agreements that are about to be finalized; the Federal Government and the State Government will publicize them. We went to communicate what was happening; the most important topics were the Jaguar Park… it was largely a communication issue, topics that were not communicated well, which is why this problem kept growing," emphasized Castañón Trejo.

José Alfredo Contreras Méndez, the municipal president of Bacalar, participated in the conference and stated that the "Mercado del Bienestar" (Well-Being Market) program implemented in the ninth municipality has yielded positive results for Bacalar. He expressed gratitude for the national-level support and advocacy provided.

He explained that the Tulum "Felipe Carrillo Puerto" Airport has helped them attract tourism, as has the collaborative work among the municipal presidents of the southern zone. He also mentioned the ongoing promotion of the Ichkabal Archaeological Zone. Addressing the low season, he stated, "That is why we must have unity as a tourist destination."

He expressed his support and solidarity with the municipality of Tulum regarding the crisis its inhabitants are facing, noting that the partnerships between them have produced good results.

For his part, José María Morelos Municipal President Erik Borges Yam alleged that the crisis in Tulum "is a partisan issue" and called for unity to promote the destination's positive image. "We must not continue to attack Tulum, because we are Mexicans; attacking Tulum is attacking the economy of the families who live here; Mexico is also attacked when (negative) things are said about Tulum."

He stated that the only tourist destination in José María Morelos is Maya Ka'an, which is an exemplary community-based tourism project in the entire country.

Diego Castañón emphasized that he will continue working from Tulum, noting that the initiative to open protected natural areas for free visits has already passed. He will now request Senator Eugenio Segura Vázquez to ensure the initiative is voted in favor of in the Senate. "This is a media-driven crisis," he said.

Taking the floor, David Ortiz Mena revealed that this year's sargassum influx was the most impactful, "five times worse than 2018, which was the worst year." He also cited external factors that influenced the decline in tourism to Tulum, such as the recession in the United States.

Furthermore, he noted that Quintana Roo is a multi-destination state with 12 different offerings, including Tulum. "I am sure that Maya and Bacalar will share tourists with Tulum."

He announced that November is expected to close with good occupancy rates and December with even higher numbers. He took the opportunity to call on tourism service providers "to treat visitors well, because in a municipality like Tulum, we all depend on tourism. We are working to establish a fixed rate schedule for our taxi driver colleagues."

Providing a report on hotel occupancy, he stated it is at 54 percent for October, representing a decrease of almost ten percentage points compared to the same month last year. The tourism offering is varied, ranging from $18-20 per night to luxury hotels. Akumal has 67 percent occupancy in all-inclusive resorts; the European Plan has 20 percent occupancy; the Tulum hotel zone has 34 percent occupancy; and downtown Tulum has 39 percent occupancy, resulting in a weighted average of 54 percent.

For November, they estimate occupancy rates above 80 percent, and for December, they expect over 90 percent across all categories and offerings in the municipality. "The tourists will be here, we are going to treat them well, our destination has a lot to offer. I assure you that Tulum has a great tourism offering; we have everything to be a world leader," he concluded.