Instead of five thousand tourists who booked their stay in Acapulco’s coast hotels, there are now only 300 reservations.
Tourism Commission Secretary, Karen Castrejon Trujillo, reported that according to the state hotels managers’ data, more than 80 percent of "spring breakers" have canceled their reservations and plans to visit the Acapulco port.
The deputy said that according to information from hotels owners in Acapulco, instead of five thousand foreign tourists who had reservations for the upcoming holiday season, there are now only 300, because the others decided not to confirm their reservations, reflecting a serious problem with safety in the city.
The local legislator from the Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) believes the collapse of reservations is strongly correlated with the security situation in the port which has damaged the tourism image of the state of Guerrero.
Castrejon Trujillo explained the problem – the most recent event that has damaged the image of the port in the world was the unfortunate incident where six Spanish tourists were gang-raped in Acapulco.
Stemming from the latest occurrences in Acapulco, she has requested joint tourism commissions and special follow ups in the case of the Spanish tourists, a meeting with the Minister of Tourism, Javier Montes Aluni – but they do not yet have a date for the meeting to discuss the issues.
The local deputy said more than 50 percent of Guerrero’s income is based on tourism. Since the reputation of the country has been damaged, other regions besides Acapulco have been hit by the drop in bookings – e.g. Costa Chica and Costa Grande. However, she believed that state authorities should redouble their efforts to ensure security in Acapulco.
According to the latest data released by the Bank of Mexico, in 2012 international tourism revenues grew by 7.2% compared to the previous year. In 2012 the number of international tourists who visited Mexico was 23.1 million passengers, while in 2011 it was 23.4 million, representing a difference of less than 290,000 people.
The country also recorded increased revenues from international tourism. During 2011 tourists spent $425.50 per person on average, whereas last year this indicator reached $460.50, an 8.2% increase.