What is Going on With Tourism in 2026
It seems like we are writing this article again for the third year in a row. In fact, we did write about 2024 having a lower-than-normal low season. Then in 2025 we also wrote about why tourism was not coming to the Riviera Maya. But this year, it definitely feels different, and not in a good way. 2026 has been so slow some people are calling it a crisis. So, what’s really going on with tourism this year and how did we get here?
This year is markable different than past years. Besides just a year-on-year drop in arrivals, we are seeing other areas of the economy being hit. A walk down 5th Avenue in Playa Del Carmen for example, you will see about 30 businesses locals empty because they have closed or cannot find new tenants to rent them. The first hotels have started to close, citing the low tourism numbers and battle with seaweed. Airlines have canceled flights to the area’s airports. And another big part fo the economy, real estate, has slowed dramatically. While previous years were slow, this year is hitting harder the economy and affecting locals more.
We personally know people out of work for months now because there is no work in their fields. We have friends that are also struggling to pay bills because of the slowing economy. Here at our website, we see the drop in traffic as less people plan trips to the area. Even at high end golf courses that normally see 100 players per day, they are seeing only 20-25 people. This is all anecdotal evidence of just how this downturn is hitting the local economy.
Let’s examine why previous years were slow and how 2026 is comparing to previous declines in tourism.
Note: Look for Part 2 of this article where we talk about solutions and ideas to fix some of the issues facing tourism. We will have a link at the bottom of the article.
Rewind to Pervious Downturns in Tourism
Let’s go back to the past two years. What did we say were the reasons tourism was slow? Surprisingly, the last two years have about the same reasons people are not coming in 2026. Some of the reasons were the unpredictable economic stability up north (United States and Canada), seaweed, prices in the Riviera Maya, and flight prices. So how are these aspects now in 2026?
Economy in the US and Canada
Well, if you are reading this from the US or Canada you probably know how the economy for you is. Americans in general are cutting back on travel in 2026 and are much more cost conscience. Even though more Canadians are skipping travel to the US this year and going to Mexico, we are not seeing that make up for the overall drop in travelers. Our European guests are also cutting costs on travel. A trip to Mexico with a longer and more expensive flight is not going well for the tourism numbers in the Riviera Maya. For the three biggest travel markets that come to the Riviera Maya, each one is getting pinched for travel in 2026.
How is Seaweed in the Riviera Maya This Year?
Seaweed (sargassum) has been an issue in the Riveira Maya for 12 years now. Some years are light and others are heavy and discourage people from coming. The predictions for 2026 were for a heavy year. Those predictions have been accurate, and we have seen a very bad spring/summer of seaweed arriving on our shores. So, what is being done about it?
In previous years the typical playbook was put up some barriers and clean the beaches as much as possible, then hope for the best. This has been the playbook for a while now. A small shift has been toward boats that collect the seaweed offshore before it hits the beach. This has had some success, but the amount of seaweed has overwhelmed every deterrence. Different barriers have been tried and the effectiveness of them has improved. The issue of seaweed has been so great that even the President of Mexico was recently in the Riviera Maya
Positive Weather News?
Some positive weather-related news for 2026 are the hurricane predictions. The strong El Niño in the Pacific this year will create wind shear that directs hurricanes away from the Riviera Maya. While a strong El Niños do not completely prevent hurricanes from forming, it does slow down strong developments and the size of hurricanes. However, some hurricane activity can benefit us. We have noticed that hurricanes that go north between the Yucatan Peninsula and up towards Florida offer us a reprieve from seaweed. Often after a hurricane goes north, we get several weeks of amazing beach weather and conditions.
What Are Prices Like In 2026 in the Riviera Maya?
A big thing that people mention are the prices in the Riviera Maya going up. Most people will point to all-inclusive hotel prices getting more expensive as one of the biggest jumps. Because the costs of travel are going up, the perception of value is being eroded in vacations to the Riviera Maya. Let’s examine what is going on with prices.
All-Inclusive Hotel Prices
Why does it seem all inclusive hotels are getting more expensive? Many of the hotels are going up in price. So why is this? It is a mixed bag of reasons:
- Inflation. So far in 2026 inflation is running higher in Mexico than in 2025. Some of the highest inflation was in food and beverage (6.91%), Alcohol and tobacco (8.05%), restaurants and lodging (7.16%).
- The exchange rate. The Mexican Pesos has been strong in recent years. It currently is around 17.5 Pesos to the USD. This has an overall effect of your costs on vacation by having less spending power.
- Demand. As more Canadians skipped going to the US on vacation in 2026 and the condition of seaweed, people are choosing all-inclusive hotels more often because of pools and services.
- People are not booking far in advance. The trend is late bookings, based on people waiting to see how the economy is or how other conditions are. Booking early can be the best way to save money on an all-inclusive booking.
Restaurant Prices in the Riviera Maya
Restaurants are getting more expensive in the Riviera Maya. There is a fourfold reason for this.
- The high and low season pattern for the Riviera Maya has changed a lot. It used to be a more predictable two high seasons and two low seasons for the area. Now the high season has shrank to a few months around the winter months. So, what does this have to do with restaurants? The labor laws are pretty strict. Restaurants cannot fire people when it is slow and hire when busy. Having enough staff for high season to give good service and surviving through the low season is a tight rope business owners have to walk. This adds to cost of running a restaurant in the Riviera Maya.
- Inflation as we mentioned above, factors into the prices. Especially since a lot of the food is imported to the area.
- Consumer demand. No, it is not having more demand for food, it is what consumers buy. Think about it, where in the world would you have such an array of restaurants that are not the national or regional cuisine? When was the last time you went out for Yucatecan food? So many of the restaurants (even at all-inclusive hotels) are international cuisine. Demand for these international restaurants is strong, and this means that most of the ingredients are imported to the area at a cost.
- Greed and corruption. Rents for many restaurants is very expensive, this combined with fees, licenses and inspections make overhead very expensive. Then some restaurants will overcharge or include a tip on top of high prices. This can make going out for a basic meal $20-$30 USD which used to cost much less.
What Are Average Flight Prices to Cancun Airport from East Coast US and Canada?
Most of the tourists coming to the Riviera Maya through Cancun Airport are arriving from the east coast of the USA and Canada. This is because east coast flights from these countries is cheaper and quicker to the east coast of Mexico. From the west coast of Canada and the United States the easier and cheaper flight routes are to the west coast of Mexico. Let’s look at the average flight prices between the eastern US and Canada and Cancun.
In the most recent 6 years (including 2026) the highest average flight prices were in 2022. This was because after the pandemic prices were a premium as people wanted to travel again. Flights from the east coast of the United States were between $550-$700 USD and flights from eastern Canada were $700-$950 CAD. Flight prices in 2024 were the lowest average price when compared to the 6-year period. Prices in 2025 were second cheapest on average and so far in 2026 flight prices are the 3rd cheapest on average.
While we do see comments about flights being much more expensive from some people’s departure airports, the data shows that flight prices are not more expensive on average in 2026.
New Reasons for Tourism Slump in the Riviera Maya 2026
New complaints that we hear more loudly this year are taxi ripoffs and corruption. These have been things people mention before, but it seems like the voices are getting louder and the issues are compiling people to focus more on it. Local governments have
Taxis at the Cancun Airport and in cities in the Riviera Maya are a major thing that people complain about. We personally experience it all the time. Even if you are a with a local, many taxi drivers will try to overcharge. Taxis do not use meters, and Uber is not available in most of the Riviera Maya.
Perhaps one of the bright sides to a tourism downturn is the blame game that starts. It can focus people’s attention on some of the issues that the Riviera Maya faces. We are seeing more citizen engagement in putting pressure on local governments to come up with solutions.
The Tulum Effect
Tulum has been in the news recently. If you have not heard any news about Tulum, you must be under a rock. Tulum hating has become an online sport. Often when something becomes unpopular, it becomes a punching bag and people are really enjoying hating on Tulum now. Tulum has had the severest downturn of all the Riviera Maya. What looked like an unstoppable train of influencers, chic restaurant and exclusive beach clubs has turned into a shell of its former self.
Tulum overbuilt, made everything luxury, and wanted everything to be costly to propel fortunes of people. Now there is a backlash against most things Tulum has done. People want beach access, less costly park access, and affordable rentals. We have even seen people living in Tulum move back to Playa Del Carmen because it offers more city life and overall rounded economy.
The good news about the severe downturn in Tulum is it is making people look at the real causes of the problem. Local officials and police in Tulum have been cleaning house to eliminate corruption, even if people are still skeptical. It seems that each day on Facebook there is another Tulum story calling out corruption. At least this time people are talking about it. When so much of the economy is based on tourism, you have to address why tourism is hurting.
Conclusion
So far, the 2026 season has been very hard for many people. Living in the Riviera Maya you get used to the high and low seasons, but it has been changing. Low seasons are lower and longer. It feels like many are just waiting for the “high” season or for tourism to pick up again. Some have not been able to make it. It is sad to see businesses close and people struggle.
When an economy is based on tourism, you are at the whims of the world. A bad economy in another country, weather conditions, natural phenomena’s, and other things are outside your control.
So that is how things are going this year. It is easy to complain about the problems, but it is hard to have solutions to them. In our part 2 of this article, we will see if we can find some solutions to the tourism issues that are facing the Rivera Maya.
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