On Wednesday, October 31, 2018, Hon. Manuel Heredia, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Director of the Belize Tourism Board, Karen Bevans, held a press conference to inform the public of the next steps to be taken to address the sargassum problem plaguing Belize and the greater Caribbean. In September 2018, there was a massive influx of sargassum in 4 tourism destinations: San Pedro, Caye Caulker, Placencia, and Hopkins.