Tourist board says Acapulco is ready to welcome Canadian vacationers
Mexico’s oldest tourist resort destination is hoping to attract Canadian vacationers back to a part of the world that took a beating at the hands of Mother Nature but which it says has mostly recovered from the natural disaster.
Tourism officials from Acapulco visited both Montreal and Toronto recently, updating agents on where the Pacific coast city stands following Hurricane Otis, which was blamed for extensive damage and 52 deaths in coastal Mexico after making landfall in October of last year.
Guillermina Camarena of Acapulco’s tourism board insisted that there’s now no reason for visitors to avoid Acapulco.
“The tourist infrastructure is in full operation, tourist services, events and activities are carried out with complete normality, offering the quality and hospitality for which this destination is recognized worldwide,” Camarena told Travel Courier.
She said over 70% of accommodation options are available, which translates to around 11,500 rooms, down from the 19,000 available before Otis. Plans call for 15,000 rooms to be available in December.
Camarena said that repair work means that many hotels have new furniture and decor and some have “in total a new image.”
As well, activities such as wáter sports, boat rides, lagoon excursions, city tours, and the famed cliff divers show at La Quebrada are fully operational, she continued.
Restaurants, sporting events such as the Mexico Tennis Open (ATP500) concerts and cultural events remain on schedule and are running without interruptions, “ensuring a pleasant experience for all visitors,” she continued.
Flights to Acapulco from this country will begin in December, with Camarena stating that those who work in tourism in her destination are “working hard to offer the best experience to our visitors. We have local events, important concerts, great music.”
There was no immediate word on how many foreign tourists are visiting Acapulco these days. A destination that in its heyday became a celebrity hangout — routinely attracting such Hollywood stars as John Wayne — has lost market share internationally to such newer resort locales as Cancun and the Riviera Maya.
But Camarena said that those who haven’t visited Acapulco for some time will see many changes on their return.
“We will continue working to offer an attractive destination, with new and renewed cultural, gastronomic and ecotourism experiences for the whole family,” she promised. “And also it’s important for us to have the great support from the international airlines.”
Sunwing will begin serving Acapulco from Toronto next month, while Air Transat will begin offering it from Montreal. United Airlines already links Acapulco and Houston, while American Airlines carries people from Dallas to the Mexican city.
“Acapulco continues to be a vibrant and safe place to enjoy its natural, cultural, historical and gastronomic richness,” Camarena said. “We invite all travellers to continue trusting in Acapulco as a quality tourist destination that offers unique experiences in a natural environment of incomparable beauty.”
The destination is increasingly catering to the ecotourism market, offering the likes of hiking, bird watching, and lagoon sunrise tours.
“What I can assure you is that in Acapulco you will find endless attractions for all ages, tastes and styles, we have a large billboard of events that, in addition to its incomparable natural beauty, its gastronomy and diversity of places of interest, make our destination the best option to enjoy a memorable vacation,” Camarena added.
“For this reason we invite you to visit us and all Acapulco people are waiting for you with open arms and the best of smiles.”
Ethel Hansen Davey of Toronto Uniglobe Enterprise agency visits Acapulco frequently and was saddened by the hurricane damage.
“I have had enquiries and have booked the Pierre Marques Mundo in the Diamante area, which sits on the Pacific, not in the traditional Acapulco Bay, and which, according to my sources, has been restored,” she said. “Of course I have booked some air-only to clients who winter there but not nearly as many as in previous years since many of the condos are not repaired yet.”
Hansen Davey said Acapulco’s rebound has been hampered by a lack of government support.
“Having said that, the hotels that are ready to receive guests are doing well, for example, the Suites Alba,” she continued. “It is not directly in the bay, but faces back towards the Hotel Zone from the Gran Via Tropical, and is a good option. The HS HOTSSUN, I believe, is also fully operational.
“I am a regular visitor to Acapulco and the small independent accommodations like Villa Linda where I stay, are doing well with visitors, mostly from Mexico City and other Mexican cities. These you will not find in the tour operator offerings.”
