Few Tourists, More Violence, Close Businesses
(Acapulco, AN 20 October) So far in the month of October, six more businesses on the Costera have closed, most of them restaurants in the Condesa area, citing a drop in tourism. The announcement was made by the “Suma a 10” Association (meaning “adds up to ten”), a local tourist industry business group, through its president, Laura Caballero Rodríguez. In a press conference, she cited the drop in visitors is the result of “the perception that Acapulco is a dangerous place.”
Three weeks ago, 20 men from Michoacán state were kidnapped in the Costa Azul traffic circle by an armed group and carried off. With the thought that the captors were soldiers or police commandos in the war against organized crime, Caballero Rodríguez called upon all officials to “let them go” and to “come to a truce,” as the struggle is slowly costing Acapulco its livelihood. She did not go into detail about what sort of truce could be made. It is remarkable that the blame for the violence has been placed with the government and not with the criminal organizations.
The association president added, “We look sadly at the few businesses still open on the Costera, when at night Acapulco turns into a ghost town, and you hear only the sirens of the police vehicles.” She added that this show of force only terrifies the few remaining tourists, “who have been faithful to Acapulco for all these years.” They may decide to go somewhere else for their next vacation, “lest they fall victim to some act of violence.”
Costera businesses closing this month include Don Giovanni, Vesuvio, Las Delicias and Tacos Alex, beachwear store Copacabana (all of which are in Condesa), as well as a bar, Shake It, across the Costera from the Americana University in the Magallanes district.
In a press conference called by CROM, a confederation of labor in the Guerrero region, the state secretary, Federico Marcial Parral, made it known that 40% of its more than 4,000 members who work in tourism have been laid off and are on stand-by (in a system similar to a hiring hall) because activity has fallen to its lowest level in decades.
