Tulum’s tourism industry is experiencing a period of instability that is already directly impacting employment, following cancellations of reservations and hotel operations below capacity, according to union representatives in the destination.
Claudio Cortés Méndez, commissioner of the CROC union in Tulum, warned that recent international tensions, such as the conflict in Iran, have caused approximately 10% cancellations in the Riviera Maya, an immediate blow to the tourism activity that sustains the local economy. However, business owners maintain that this is due to the negative image of the Mexican Caribbean caused by sargassum seaweed and crime.
Hotel occupancy reflects a partial recovery, but it is insufficient to guarantee stability. Although peaks of up to 80% have been reached in certain seasons, the trend is erratic, and during periods of low demand, levels drop to as low as 40%, with additional declines of up to 15% in areas of downtown Tulum.
The closure of hotels and tourism-related businesses confirms the destination’s decline. These decisions stem from a lack of profitability during prolonged periods of low occupancy, forcing businesses to reduce operations or suspend activities indefinitely.
The reduced activity translates into job cuts or a halt to new hiring. Hotels are operating with reduced staff due to uncertainty in demand, directly impacting workers who depend on the sector’s stability to sustain their income.
The uneven performance of the Riviera Maya exacerbates Tulum’s situation. While the tourist corridor has reached occupancy rates close to 95%, the destination maintains averages between 65% and 70%, with variations that allow some hotels to exceed 75% on weekends, but without achieving consistency throughout the week.
Structural factors also contribute to the slowdown. Increased costs for visitors and the destination’s perception on social media have influenced travel decisions, limiting a sustained recovery despite temporary upticks.
The goal of the business and labor sectors is to maintain occupancy levels above 70% or 75% in the coming months. This threshold is considered key to avoiding more severe job cuts during the off-season and containing the deterioration of the labor market in one of the most iconic destinations in the Mexican Caribbean.
Source: tribunademexico
