Sargassum on the Caribbean Hurts Yucatán’s Economy Far Away

Jorge Carrillo Sáenz, the president of Yucatán’s Tourism Business Council, knows the routine by now. Families from the north pack their cars for Mexican Caribbean beach vacations at Playa del Carmen or Tulum. Then they see the photos online.

Piles of brown seaweed. Dead fish floating in cloudy water. The smell of rotting algae.

They cancel their trips to Cancún and Tulum. They skip Yucatán entirely.

Sargassum seaweed is hitting Mexico’s Caribbean coast in record amounts this year. Scientists estimate 37,600 metric tons will wash ashore in Quintana Roo during 2025’s peak season. That’s nearly double the amount collected in some previous years.

And when the Caribbean coast sneezes, Yucatán catches a cold. Despite clean beaches here, hotels in Yucatán report empty rooms. Restaurant owners watch customers disappear. Tour operators cancel excursions.

“Little is said about the low, affordable rates we have in our Yucatecan hotel industry,” Carrillo Sáenz said. “The situation in the Yucatecan tourism sector has not been easy this year.”

Road Trips Disappear

Millions of Mexican families traditionally drive south each summer. They stop overnight in Mérida or Valladolid. They explore Mayan ruins. Then they continue to the beach resorts of Quintana Roo.

Not anymore.

Tulum collected 50% more sargassum in early 2025 compared to the same period last year. The picturesque beaches that appear on Instagram feeds now look like garbage dumps.

“During the summer holidays each year, domestic tourists, mostly arriving by car with their families from Mexico City, Puebla, Veracruz, and other central Mexican states, head to the beaches of Cancún, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen,” Carrillo Sáenz explained. “They traditionally spend the night in Mérida, Valladolid, or another Yucatecan municipality.”

That pattern is breaking down. The seaweed invasion is scaring away the road-trippers who form the backbone of Yucatán’s summer tourism.

Record-Breaking Season

Scientists detected 37.5 million metric tons of sargassum floating across the Atlantic basin in May alone — the highest quantity since monitoring began in 2011. Weather patterns and ocean currents are pushing unprecedented amounts toward Mexico’s shores.

The brown algae forms thick mats on the water’s surface. When it washes ashore, it creates piles several feet deep. The decomposing seaweed releases hydrogen sulfide gas that smells like rotten eggs and can irritate eyes and throats.

Of 100 coastal monitoring sites in Quintana Roo’s northern zone, 95 recently reported sargassum presence. Popular beaches including Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos and Cozumel face daily cleanup battles.

The Mexican Navy deployed 11 large vessels and 22 smaller boats to collect seaweed before it reaches shore. They’ve removed 4,236 metric tons so far in 2025. But the ocean keeps delivering more.

Tourism Numbers Crash

Carrillo Sáenz expects “significant decline in the first half of 2025” for Yucatán tourism. Hotel occupancy rates are falling. Room prices are dropping. Tourism workers face layoffs.

The timing couldn’t be worse. Playa del Carmen and Akumal reported Mexico’s highest hotel occupancy rates in early 2024, averaging 89% and 82% respectively. Now those same destinations struggle with cancellations.

Mexico’s tourism industry generates about $26.4 billion annually and employs millions of people. The sargassum crisis threatens jobs from Cancún to Campeche.

Juan José Martín Pacheco, president of the Mexican Hotel Association in Yucatán, is analyzing June statistics to assess the damage. He expects the numbers to tell a grim story.

Fighting Back

Yucatán officials are pushing local tourism campaigns. State Tourism Secretary Darío Flota Ocampo launched a “seven-tourist route” initiative encouraging residents to explore attractions within the state.

“We think the seven-tourist route campaign is a very good idea, encouraging Yucatecans to visit the state’s attractions,” Carrillo Sáenz said.

The strategy makes sense. If foreign tourists won’t come, maybe locals will fill the hotels and restaurants.

Tourism officials are exploring other solutions, including offshore barriers and rapid-response cleanup teams. The federal government is funding research into turning collected sargassum into valuable products through biorefinery projects.

Scientists hope to create chemical compounds, construction materials and biofuels from the seaweed waste. That could transform a tourism disaster into an economic opportunity.

Sargassum-Climate Change Connection

The sargassum explosion isn’t natural. Fertilizer runoff and warmer ocean temperatures fuel the massive blooms. Climate change is creating perfect conditions for seaweed growth.

The problem started around 2011. Before then, Caribbean beaches rarely saw significant sargassum arrivals. Now the invasions happen annually from April through October.

Marine experts at the University of South Florida warn that 2025 could be another major sargassum year, with more than 7 million metric tons detected across the Atlantic.

Tourism officials across the region are bracing for months of beach cleanups, tourist complaints and economic losses. The seaweed that once provided crucial ocean habitat has become an environmental and economic nightmare.

For Carrillo Sáenz and thousands of tourism workers, the summer that should bring prosperity instead brings uncertainty. The Caribbean’s crystal-clear waters have turned brown. The postcard-perfect beaches are buried under rotting algae.

And the tourists are staying home.

For more information about the impact of environmental challenges on Mexico’s tourism industry, visit National Geographic’s coverage of sargassum research.