Tourists are flocking to Cancun despite the seaweed surge in Sargassum

With an average of 275 inbound daily flights during the weekend, air activity at Cancun International Airport doesn’t seem to be slowing down despite the important arrival of sargassum to Quintana Roo.

In recent years, Mexico has broken all arrival records, with a large percentage of international tourists choosing Cancun as their main hotspot.

The number of international passengers going through customs at Cancun airport surpassed 8.21 million as of April 2024This is evident from data from Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR), the trading operator of this airport on the New York Stock Exchange.

This figure represents an increase of 6 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

Although Cozumel has seen a 20 percent increase in international arrivals and Merida 9 percent, Cancun still beat them both.

The idea of ​​getting a taste of Caribbean life by walking on pristine white-sand beaches bathed in turquoise water has drawn visitors to Cancun for years. But that may be about to change.

On May 11, the Navy Secretariat has raised the sargassum alert for the northern part of Quintana Roo to “Level 3 – Yellow”, due to an increase in algae on the beaches and a negative forecast for the coming weeks.

For its part, the Quintana Roo Sargassum Monitoring Network (RDMS) has detected 7,400 tons of sargassum heading to the state from the Honduran Caribbean.

Hundreds of tons of that sargassum are expected to arrive on Mexican beaches in the coming weeks.

Despite unfavorable forecasts, Cancun’s sargassum season has not been as bad as in the Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Tulum areas.

“Morning cleanups are organized by resorts that keep the beaches largely clean until the afternoon,” according to our most recent report.

The presence of algae has not stopped beachgoers from swimming and playing in the waters of Playa Delfines, one of the hardest hit beaches to date.

Cancun also offers cenotesbeautiful natural sinkholes filled with fresh water, which have become in high demand because they are protected from sargassum.

Those planning a getaway to Cancun or the Mexican Caribbean should hurry, because the mass of sargassum is approaching the beaches of Quintana Roo, according to the Citizen Observatory. could double in the next 20 days, threatens to ruin water activities in the area.

According to historical observations, the worst affected months in Cancun are May, June and July.

During this period you will inevitably find a significant number of beaches covered in sargassum, especially in certain parts of the so-called Cancun Hotel Zone.