The "Riviera Maya", in the region of Cancun, Mexico, attracted 22 million visitors in 2019, but today, it is a bad surprise that awaits tourists.

The beaches are in fact closed to limit contagion from Covid-19. Only clients of luxury hotels who have privatized their beaches have the right to set foot in the water.

The other establishments are struggling against bankruptcy. More than sixty hotels have been put up for sale recently. Hernan Forster, owner of the Turquoise hotel he had built five years ago, will have to part with it. "This is the Covid-19 price, as they say. I put it up for sale at $ 1.125 million, whereas in normal times I could have sold it at $ 1.80 million", explains- he does.

Hotels for sale

Roberto Martinez Troya, his real estate agent, currently has 20 hotels for sale in the area. Almost none have a private beach. Hoteliers are also suffering from the proliferation of sargassum, this invasive algae that has become an annual nightmare in the Caribbean. 

"Interest in buying real estate here has collapsed. It was a big blow to us because of the drop in buy-sell transactions, but we see great deals for potential buyers." , comments Roberto Martinez Troya

According to him, the economic future of the Riviera Maya has just changed its course: the salvation of the region will no longer come from short-term vacationers, but from those who, thanks to the possibilities of teleworking, will want to settle in the long term.

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