Security officials and government authorities have been doing a fantastic job of making Cancun a safer place to visit by cracking down on crime in the area, resulting in a significant reduction in crime. Now they will be adding another much-needed element of safety that will aid in protecting tourists as well. Starting with Playa Delfines, also called Dolphin Beach, Cancun will begin 24-hour monitoring of the area’s beaches.
Red Cross To Help Protect Cancun’s Most Popular Beach
The project is a collaboration with the Mexican Red Cross, which will be installing permanent monitoring centers to assist lifeguards in protecting the thousands of tourists who visit Playa Delfines every week. Playa Delfines is conveniently located right in the heart of the Cancun Hotel Zone, which is where the bulk of visiting tourists stay and spend their time. It is one of Cancun’s most popular beaches and is visited throughout the year by not only tourists but locals as well.
Cancun’s Beaches And Safety
Cancun is known as a party destination for tourists and many visitors spend hours on the beaches at a time, partying and soaking up the sun. Sometimes this results in accidents and there are a few beaches in particular that seem to be the location of more accidents than others. Those beaches include Playa Tortugas (Turtle Beach), Playa Marlín (Marlin Beach), Playa Gaviota Azul (Blue Seagull Beach), and Playa Delfines (Dolphin Beach).
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Recent Accidents On Playa Delfines
The very popular Playa Delfines has been the site of at least two accidents involving tourists in the last year, one that involved a fatality. Over the summer a tourist from Bangladesh followed some friends into the water at Playa Delfines and shortly after was seen drowning and was unable to be revived. Then in October, an American tourist was able to be rescued from drowning at Playa Delfines, after being swept away by the sea and unable to return to the shore on his own.
Current Lifeguard Situation At Playa Delfines
Currently, there are only six lifeguards to monitor the hundreds of tourists and locals that show up at Playa Delfines nearly every day. The beach is approximately 2.5 miles long and pretty wide, so six lifeguards are hardly enough to sufficiently monitor all of it. Furthermore, Playa Delfines is known for having a strong undertow that can easily take unsuspecting tourists out to sea and make it nearly impossible to get back to shore without help.
Flag Warning System For Cancun Beaches
One of the reasons accidents occur on Cancun’s beaches is that tourists are either unaware of or disregard the flag warning system used in Cancun. Different color flags are used to notify beachgoers of the current beach conditions. The flag colors and warnings include:
- Green – Signalizing that the water is safe for swimming.
- Yellow – Warning swimmers to be cautious when entering the water.
- Red – Warning that extreme caution should be taken when swimming.
- Black – Advising beachgoers not to enter the water at all.
Just during the holiday season, lifeguards had to attend to three accidents on Cancun’s beaches and fortunately, there were no fatalities reported, likely as a result of their efforts. But according to the municipal president of Benito Juárez, Ana Patricia Peralta de la Peña, it is not enough, especially when beaches are at their busiest, which is why better monitoring will be implemented. She stated that “There will be a permanent care module in Playa Delfines, a beach that is the most visited by citizens and tourists, but it is also one of the most complicated beaches in the destination, where we have large numbers of tourists, accidents.”
It was further stated that efforts will be made later on to add Red Cross modules at other beaches as well. Regardless of how much monitoring there is, though, tourists should adhere to any guidelines to protect themselves when swimming on Cancun’s beaches.
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Terry Norris
Monday 9th of January 2023
Thank you for that as a tourist. I appreciate the safety precautions. I will be visiting Cancun sometime in 1923.
Fred Munguia
Monday 9th of January 2023
Where there is Safety, Tourists go and the Riviera Maya Cancun, will be Booming Economically, being it is the hottest Tourist Vacation Destination in the world.