Tulum’s Summer Tourism Hits 10-Year Low at 40% Occupancy

Cancún, QRoo — The current summer season has failed to attract the desired number of visitors to the 11 destinations of the Mexican Caribbean, with Tulum standing out as a particularly concerning case. The city has averaged just 40% hotel occupancy, marking its worst summer season in the last decade. The decline has been attributed to sargassum seaweed and a critical drop in flight occupancy to Felipe Carrillo Puerto Airport.

A Historic Low in Tourism

Jorge Portillo Mánica, the seventh councilor of Tulum’s municipal government, revealed that the city’s downtown area has reached only 15% occupancy. “This is not a game, nor political maneuvering; Tulum is experiencing its worst tourism crisis, compounded by sargassum during the worst tourist season in its history,” he said. “The situation is heartbreaking—it’s terrible.”

Portillo Mánica, a member of Movimiento Ciudadano, stated, “There are hotels with only one or two rooms occupied, something that hasn’t happened in a long time.” He also warned that airlines have already announced plans to discontinue flights to Tulum due to low profitability, predicting further deterioration in the short and medium term if no action is taken. Earlier this year, Copa, Avianca, and Alaska Airlines canceled routes to the destination.

Efforts to Revive Tourism

In an attempt to counteract the decline, Portillo Mánica led a press conference to announce the Aura Music Fest, scheduled for August 14–16. The event will feature music, gastronomy, fashion, and Mayan culture, supported by local authorities, business leaders, and Visit México.

The councilor emphasized that Tulum’s crisis demands an emergency plan involving all three levels of government. He plans to request a meeting with Governor Mara Lezama, the Secretary of the Interior, and even President Claudia Sheinbaum to address the critical situation facing the city.