EconomyFinancialSargassum casts a shadow over the recovery of tourism...

Sargassum casts a shadow over the recovery of tourism in the Mexican Caribbean

The recovery of tourism in Mexico after the pandemic begins to be threatened by the arrival of sargassum, which has increased in recent months in the Caribbean region, and which points to levels even similar to those of 2018, when it was a nightmare for tourist activity. At a time when taking advantage of the high summer season is vital for the sector, expectations are uncertain and some regions struggle more than others.

Sargassum began to be a concern since March, when the arrival of the algae went from an estimated 4.6 million tons in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region to more than 10 million tons, according to data from the University of the South of Florida and NASA. For April, the movement of sargassum was estimated at 10.6 million tons, only surpassed by the historical maximum registered in April 2018, of 12.6 million tons.

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According to the newsletter last May from the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Laboratory, the expectation is that sargassum will increase steadily during the summer, with significant amounts of the algae expected until at least the end of July.

For the tourism industry, little can be done against sargassum. “It’s as if you asked me how we fight a hurricane,” says Braulio Arsuaga, president of the National Tourism Business Council (CNET). “We prepare, but it depends on the force of the hurricane that we get out better or worse. Here is an issue where if the forecasts of the University of South Florida are fulfilled, it will be complicated because we could have the same levels of 2018 ”.

The Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) has identified the presence of sargassum in the region that goes from the Yucatan Peninsula to the northwestern region of the Caribbean. However, the impact on destinations is not the same in all cases.

Roberto Cintrón, president of the Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres Hotel Association, affirms that in Cancun sargassum does not represent an affectation, and its presence is little in other markets such as Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres. “It’s not something for which there are cancellations or early departures,” he says.

However, in regions such as Tulum it begins to be unsustainable, since the removal of the algae is daily among hoteliers and authorities, which has led to the saturation of the properties where the algae is deposited, according to Juan Noriega, director of the Association of Tulum hotels, to the newspaper El Sol de México.

“One of the strongest points of presence of sargassum is Tulum, where a large amount has been found, it has been a major challenge,” says Arsuaga in this regard.

Sargassum on Mexican beaches: impacts, difficult to estimate

Having a problem like sargassum at a time like this, where the industry is just rising from the pandemic, is serious, but it is not easy to know to what extent because it adds to the uncertainty and nervousness caused by COVID-19.

“It is difficult to know how much it can hit us,” says Arsuaga, who sees a short-term impact in terms of the perception that a traveler may have about a destination. “Many commercial platforms alert you to the existence of sargassum, but they do not segment where there is and where not,” he says.

Until last June 28, the hotel zone of Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres registered an accumulated occupancy of 63.1% as a whole, with 191 hotels operating and 14 in temporary closure, for unspecified reasons.

For July, the region estimates that there will be occupations of 50%, plus an additional 20% for hotels that have a health certification from Sedetur, Citrón refers.

However, in the long term the effects could be more serious. A July 2020 report prepared by the Secretariats of Tourism and Environment and Natural Resources, among other agencies, warned that sargassum caused seagrass communities to be replaced by calcareous algae between 2014 and 2015, which resulted in an estimated loss of biomass below the surface covered by algae between 61.6 and 99.5%

The loss of seagrass alone translates into an estimated annual economic loss of $ 186.9 million for water erosion control services, and may eventually have negative impacts on other natural assets such as reefs, or the loss of beach.

Although the management of sargassum levels such as the current ones usually falls to hoteliers and municipal authorities, Arsuaga warns that, if larger quantities are presented, it will be a challenge. “The impact is great at the end of the day, because it is a natural phenomenon that is difficult to combat.”

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