“Speak Well of Aca” Campaign Takes Off

(Acapulco, JG 22 February) A private sector initiative called “Habla bien de Aca” (Speak well of Acapulco) was officially launched yesterday when approximately 250 owners and managers of restaurants, hotels and discos gathered in the Diana traffic circle. The idea is to promote positive aspects of Acapulco, mainly by social networks, radio and TV publicity, print advertising and promotional giveaways, like t-shirts.

Rodolfo Tercero, one of the coordinators of the project, said that the private sector decided to move on its own to repair the image of Acapulco, recently damaged by reports of violence. Government-sponsored efforts just were not enough, or were not well-directed, or just bogged down in bureaucracy. Tercero said that in December it seemed as if Acapulco was full, but the restaurants and discos were not.

“What we need to do is speak well of the place where we live, and begin to erase that image that is so negative.” Another leader in the project, Erick de Santiago, added that “this is an effort to make the society unite, to create a positive awareness among national and international tourists.” In this week, training courses will begin on how to market Acapulco as if it were a commercial brand, in national and international markets.