The massive arrival of sargassum on beaches in the center of Playa del Carmen has left the coast inoperative for the provision of tourist services due to the large number of algae accumulated in recent hours.
According to tourism service providers in the downtown area of the city, due to this situation, the flow of visitors has dropped considerably, leaving zero profits for restaurant owners on the coast and tourism service providers.
“We are in a somewhat complicated situation due to the recent arrival of sargassum that does not allow us to carry out our activities at 100%, mainly because people have a hard time approaching this area of the beach, but to the intense foul smell given off by the algae is driving them away,” said Javier Pat Campos, a tourist service provider in the central beach area.
The high arrival of sargassum to the coast of the municipality of Solidaridad began last weekend due to the passage of tropical wave number one that brought winds of more than 40 kilometers per hour.
Sargassum invades Grupo Xcaret parks
Reports indicated the arrival of sargassum in high quantities at the Xcaret ecotourism park, making it impossible to carry out any aquatic sports activities.
Likewise, it was possible to verify that the coastal fronts that have anti-sargassum barriers were insufficient, as occurred in the center of Playa del Carmen, where the infrastructure was installed by the Secretary of the Navy of Mexico. The same thing happened on the beach on Calle 88, a barrier that is part of the Paradisus hotel.
Another reporting point with a high amount of algae was Mamitas beach, where service providers reported difficulties carrying out recreational activities throughout the weekend.
The Directorate of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat), in its latest report, informed that an abundant arrival of sargassum is expected in the coming days.
TYT Newsroom