Can Tourism Outrun the Shadow of Crime in Acapulco?
Acapulco's tourism rebounds (Dorada zone sizzles), but organized crime casts a shadow. Extortion and shutdowns plague businesses. The mayor fights back, tackling violence and aiming for a happy ending.
Acapulco, the city that once shimmied with Frank Sinatra and splashed with Elizabeth Taylor, is facing a two-step recovery. Hurricane Otis left a mess, but tourists are dipping their toes back in the emerald waters.
Official numbers say Acapulco's hotel rooms are shimmying at 75% occupancy. That's just the tiny bubble of 4,534 rooms that survived Otis' wrath. Compared to the pre-hurricane salsa party of 19,600 rooms, the real occupancy rate is 17.3%.
Still, the Dorada zone is an inferno, with rooms packed like a piñata at a birthday bash. Diamond and Traditional areas are grooving too, but the rest of town is still humming the recovery blues.
Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, Acapulco's beachy cousins, are also swaying to the tourist beat, with respectable occupancy rates. But don't forget the timeshare – in all three cities, they're only a slow 30.2% occupancy.
But just as you think the salsa band might kick in, a shadow creeps across the dance floor. Organized crime, the Acapulco boogieman, has allegedly shaken down businesses for over 400 million pesos. Extortion on the beaches is replacing souvenir stands, and the lack of public transport has turned some businesses into tumbleweeds.
Alejandro Martínez, president of the local Chamber of Commerce, is doing the worry. He says crime “aims to put an end to the little economic activity in Acapulco.” Ouch. That's a move no one wants to see.
From posh neighborhoods to the sandy shore, rebuilding is high costs, scarce materials, and even threats from the Acapulco underworld. It's enough to make even the most seasoned mambo king break into a nervous foxtrot.
There's a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Mayor Abelina López Rodríguez is doing the “action speaks louder than words”. She's tackling the city's two gender violence alerts head-on, focusing on 13 high-crime neighborhoods. Now that's something we can all get behind!
So, will Acapulco regain its tourist allure or succumb to the crime? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure: this comeback story is a wild and we're all waiting to see the next move.
