Timeshares Asked to Assist in Tourism Promotion

(Acapulco, AN 8 November) In a recent press briefing, the Tourism Secretary of Acapulco, Jéssica García Rojas, expressed the opinion that timeshares, like all other “non-hotel” suppliers of accommodations, should take their fair part in the promotion of Acapulco. Hotels, which must collect an accommodation tax that supports future promotion efforts, have long insisted that the unregulated timeshares are a form of unfair competition, as they benefit from the promotion without contributing to it. It is estimated that timeshares represent a much larger segment than hotel rooms in the supply of accommodations in Acapulco. They, together with other “informal” sources, like private rooms and boarding houses, often escape the accommodations tax (as well as income tax) on the income generated, as they fly “under the radar” of the regulations. Interviewed after her participation in the national meeting of the Mexican Association of Tourism Developers (AMDETUR), the secretary added that some timeshares co-exist side-by-side with hotels, “without conflict,” and should be treated in the same way as hotels. Moreover, if timeshares were taken into account in the division of the national and state tourist promotion budgets, Acapulco would have more resources at its disposal for competing with other tourism destinations in Mexico and Latin America.

García Rojas noted that “Acapulco is a city with a supply of rooms to fit any budget, and that timeshares are an important part of this diversity of available options for tourists.” She added, “They bring second residences, which do not necessarily have a low season, into the tourism market, and with their usual minimum stay requirement of one week, they would greatly improve and clarify the picture we have of occupancies in Acapulco.” The secretary noted that in the previous municipal administration there was no interest in this subject, nor in working with AMDETUR or other forums in which it is possible to “join forces to promote the port and maintain the quality that causes the tourist to return.”