Tourism Sector Tells City: We Have a Famine
(Acapulco, El Sur 19 March) Yesterday, providers of tourism services criticized the “line” being followed by the federal secretary of tourism, the governor of the state, and most recently by newly-appointed municipal secretary of tourism, Erika Lührs. This government version of the story is that violence and insecurity is not creating a crisis in Acapulco’s tourism.
Private sector representatives strongly contradicted such statements. “There is a famine here,” they said, “because there are few tourists, and the authorities have done nothing to attract more visitors.” Tourist service providers held an informal press conference yesterday at Tamarindos beach. One representative said, “We are all suffering the greatest famine of all time. There is no tourism, and the cause is the cancer of insecurity. Acapulco is fast going broke, and state and local tourism officials are not doing anything. They do not strengthen tourism promotion, directly or indirectly, and they don’t even spend the resources already earmarked for that activity.” Another told the press, “Those who have the government jobs are not suffering the hunger that we are suffering as service providers to tourists, that is the truth. Those who say ‘there is a lot of tourism in the port,’ are lying.” Another added, “It’s easy to say there’s no crisis when you are earning a good salary and are in good economic shape.”
Not only were the service providers offended by attitudes of denial and inaction on the part of the government, they were worried by the announced policy of not permitting parking on the Costera. “Between the Zócalo and Parque Papagayo,” they pointed out, “there is no public parking at all. Where do you think the tourists will park?” Several agreed that the “no parking” rule seemed designed to impel tourists away from the traditional zone and the Golden Zone of Acapulco, towards the Diamond Zone, where the large hotels with political connections are found. In actuality, the Diamond Zone serves a completely different market, but the fear of discouraging tourism by failing to provide any parking is a genuine one.
