If you can’t decide whether or not to book those flights to Cancun due to the sargassum season, rest assured that not only authorities but also the local hotel industry are committed to providing you with the best possible beaches.
The sargassum seaweed season in Cancun had been very mild in 2024 but it started changing last week. Reports and photos from today, April 24, suggest a huge spike in the amount of sargassum in Cancun and the region.
Source: Traveling Lifestyle
Last month, the state government, along with the Secretary of Navy, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, environmentalists and civil society, joined forces to tackle sargassum in 2024.
According to Jesús Almaguer Salazar, President of the Hotel Association of Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres, local hoteliers have hired up to 300 workers each to keep beaches clean.
“Each hotel makes plans depending on sargassum behavior and with these barriers, we’ve significantly reduced its arrival. Some hotels have up to 300 employees dedicated to this [cleaning], depending on the hotel size.”
Source: Traveling Lifestyle
The Naval Region has started to install anti-sargassum ocean barriers from Puerto Morelos to Mahahual, which has always been the most affected area.
This preventive strategy, along with the use of special ships capable of collecting the algae in the open sea, has significantly reduced its presence at local beaches.
Almaguer also said that the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) should take into account the particularities of the population living in tourist states such as Quintana Roo, given that funds to address issues like sargassum depend on data this institution provides.
“Inegi should consider that in tourist states like ours, we have up to 20 million temporary inhabitants throughout the year, who demand services, who require services, and who need to use public services.”
For this season, 22 smaller vessels will be supporting the “Natans” ship, in addition to 340 workers, including technical-scientific personnel, as per the Secretary of Navy (Semar.)
In the first two weeks of operation, Quintana Roo has collected 950 tons of seaweed in the sea.