Tourism Figures for Last Two Years Show No Improvement

(Acapulco, AN 24 January) The heads of the National College of Tourism Professionals and the College of Graduates in Tourism have both lamented the absence of any recovery in the figures for 2010 coming out of Acapulco. They say the Canada market and the Spring Break market have both disappeared. They call upon the next state governor to do something about repositioning Acapulco as a leader in international tourism.

According to the two business groups, the average hotel occupancy in Acapulco was 48% in 2010, about the same as in 2009, showing stagnation in the state’s main economic activity. They made biting criticisms of the local, state and federal authorities who are charged with conducting tourism promotion nationally and internationally. The tourism business leaders said that promotional activity was practically nil for this year’s high seasons. They ask that the newly elected leaders have the “political will” to install tourism professionals rather than political cronies in the key positions. A continual source of friction is the statistical reporting. According to the private sector, the public numbers are manipulated to show that public policies and bureaucrats are working, when the opposite is true. “Surely they want us to give them pleasant statistics, where it says we were at 100 percent, but we only got 40% from the Canadians, and Spring Break this year is not happening, to say nothing of the cruise ships, which will drop off by 60% in the next season.” Cedano Galera, a tourism executive said, “We need people with moral qualities who can make Acapulco and Guerrero into competitive destinations. The problem is that the area is uncompetitive. It’s the most important economic activity in the state, and even though people are still dying in this state from extreme poverty, [officials] have not engendered a prosperous and dynamic industry that reflects the benefits of development towards the marginalized places in the state.” By “moral qualities” it is presumed to mean the ability to apply the budget to the purposes for which intended rather than making contracts with people unable to perform, just because the kickbacks are higher.