Tulum’s tourism slump leaves airport empty, hotels shuttered and sargassum choking beaches

Passenger traffic at Tulum’s airport has plunged 33% since 2025, leaving only a solitary Viva Aerobus Airbus A320 on the runway after carriers including Aeroméxico, Volaris and American Airlines cut most routes. The airport, inaugurated in 2023 to relieve Cancun, now appears deserted, mirroring a broader tourism collapse that began with a 10% drop in hotel occupancy a year ago. Hotels such as Maya Tulum are empty, their beachside furniture abandoned, while a massive sargassum bloom—recorded as the Caribbean’s highest concentration in 2026—covers the shore and emits foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide.

Residents like Blanca Ramírez’s husband have had to slash workdays and take carpentry jobs to make ends meet. The government has launched the “Tulum Renace” initiative, deployed environmental brigades, and announced new flights from Montreal and Toronto, but recovery remains uncertain.