Acapulco is expecting a smaller number of spring-breakers from the U.S. this year, but tourism officials in the Pacific Coast resort city blame the expected drop on the economic recession and not on violence between drug gangs that led to a reported 32 murders in the outskirts of the city in a three-day period last week.
"We did research and asked travel agents who specialize in spring break [travel] why there are fewer coming this year, and they said it is because of the economy," said Piquis Rochin, director of international promotions for the Acapulco Destination Marketing Office. Last year, Acapulco hosted an estimated 15,000 spring break travelers from the U.S. and Canada; this year, Rochin believes the number will drop to between 7,000 and 12,000.
The Acapulco killings that generated much media attention (they happened the same week as the murders of three people tied to the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez along Mexico's troubled northern border) occurred during one of the first weeks of spring break, when MTV was broadcasting special events from the city. However, she said, the murders occurred well inland, some five miles from the tourist areas.
Rochin said she heard no reports of any cancellations as a result of the violence.
Police patrols were beefed up in the city and on the beaches where spring break revelers play, but Rochin insisted, "This is being done to make parents back at home feel better."
In the next month or so, the city will be home to several important events: among them, the opening of three new luxury hotels; a concert by opera tenor Jose Carreras; and Tianguis, the annual Mexican travel industry convention and marketplace, which is slated for April 25 to 28.
"Life is very normal in Acapulco, and I recommend that people come here and enjoy a normal vacation without any fears," Rochin said.