Mexican travel agents redirect tourists to Pacific coast due to sargassum

Travel agents in Mexico are redirecting tourists from the Caribbean coast to Pacific destinations to mitigate the economic impact of massive sargassum seaweed arrivals. The phenomenon has threatened businesses in popular areas such as Tulum and the Riviera Maya.

Jorge Hernández, president of the Mexican Federation of Tourism Associations (Fematur), reported that tourist arrivals in the Mexican Caribbean have decreased by 10 percent this year. Through proactive advisory services, agents have managed to recover 5 percent of that loss by steering travelers toward sargassum-free Pacific locations, including Huatulco, Mazatlán, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Puerto Ángel, and Manzanillo.

According to the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), the volume of sargassum this year is significantly higher than previous periods, being four times greater than 2025 levels and 27 times higher than the historical average.