Quintana Roo hoteliers and authorities are working together to tackle the mass arrival of sargassum in the 2024 season.
“Some hotels have as many as 300 employees ready to pick up sargassum, depending on the size of the resort, as there are some with very large beach fronts. However, if sargacero vessels are put into use, collection will be much easier. They worked,” said Jesús Almaguer Salazar, president of the Hotel Association of Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres.
Resort managers have also spoken to authorities about the ocean barriers to prevent the seaweed from washing up.
“We have been talking with the Admiral of the Naval Region for months, and thanks to that, anti-sargassum barriers are being installed from Puerto Morelos to Mahahual… These barriers significantly reduce beach arrivals,” said Almaguer.
Some of the most popular beaches in Quintana Roo is installing up to 8,600 meters of anti-sargassum barriers. This augments the work of 22 small boats, one seagoing vessel, four beach sweepers, 11 algae collectors and eight amphibious bands to control sargassum by 2024, according to REPORTUR.mx.
The Minister of the Navy (Semar), for his part, has done so 22 smaller ships ready to support the operations of the “Natans” shipsaccording to El Heraldo.
Hoteliers are also lobbying the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) to reconsider the population type of state houses so that the national government can allocate more money to the specific problems that this region has, for example sargassum.
Meanwhile, the sargassum season in Quintana Roo started a few weeks later than normal due to low temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean.
So far, the most affected beaches are Playa del Carmen, Sian Ka’an, Cozumel, Tulum and some coasts between Cancun and Puerto Morelos.
But that doesn’t mean these beaches are dirty all day long. The authorities are working relentlessly to clean them as quickly as possible.
For now, tourism forecasts are positive and hoteliers expect figures to continue to grow for the rest of the year.
“We had a very good (Easter) season. This serves as a basis for the rest of the year. It is very important to spend Holy Week without serious incidents. We all know it’s complicated because there is a lot of land tourism. But we are very happy. We are achieving good results and hope that we can continue in this way.” said Almaguer.
