Riviera Maya hoteliers take initiative to clean up their concession areas

For a little over a month now, the shores of the Caribbean Sea have been invaded by yellow, brown and even darker tones that expose their putrefaction; it is the sargassum that has sailed thousands of kilometers from the depths of the sea, disturbing the tranquility of businessmen, hotel owners, restaurateurs, tourists and inhabitants of the Riviera Maya.

The fact is that this pelagic marine ecosystem, which serves many species and is a reaction of nature to global changes, cannot match the vision of millions of people who wish to see that promising magazine photo they saw before their summer vacations.

Meanwhile, the organizations of the different levels of government in Mexico have tried and are still looking for the best strategy to face this macroalgae, which has been announcing its arrival for years. And for which even in 2015 governments of other countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Monaco, the Azores and Bermuda signed the Hamilton Declaration, recognizing the importance of this ecosystem and protecting the Sargasso Sea.

Attracting travelers to visit the Mexican Caribbean is a challenge for the tourism industry, which has already lost millions of pesos, and of course cannot remain with its arms crossed, even after the travel stoppage caused by the pandemic confinement, reason that leads them to take over the cleaning of the beaches that lie in front of their comfortable buildings; on the one hand the comfort and taste is diminished and on the other hand the economy of millions is endangered.

A well-coordinated effort is needed

It is in the early morning hours, when some hoteliers have decided to look out for their interests and to give a boost to their initiatives to maintain a healthy and suitable environment for travelers, so they organize brigades to collect the sargassum that arrives to their concession areas, either with new hired workers, or with employees from the hotel itself.

However, this represents an added cost to the already bleeding capital of the big businessmen, who have seen losses due to the slowdown in travel caused by the covid virus around the world. It is now that the Riviera Maya Hotel Association and the Business Coordinating Council, as well as the nautical sector and other activists who raised feathers and voice, are calling on the federal government to ensure a good economic flow in 2021. 

While some well-known hotels located in areas of high sargassum count such as the beaches of Xcalacoco, can clean their shores with the help of committed citizen groups of up to 29 people, as is the case of The Fives, where hand in hand and on a daily basis people are able to clean their beaches, others in the same area such as Le Réve have found this task more complex and only have one person in charge of collecting the macroalgae with just a rake and wheelbarrow.

The echo of the absence of the authorities is felt on this shore of the Riviera, since the efforts of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone and the Secretary of the Navy, have been focused more towards the center, and these beaches are also requesting coordination, without a doubt the strategy will have to be revised so that millions of tourists can enjoy their summer vacations as well.

Translated by Miguel Sánchez