2023-12-22 00:21:59
The sadness over the lack of tourism It takes hold of the inhabitants of the Mexican beaches of Acapulco, where businesses remain closed after almost two months of Hurricane Otis despite President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s announcement of the opening of almost 130 hotels.
The desolation is illustrated by the Pie de la Cuesta beach, in the western area of Acapulco, one of the most important tourist destinations in southeastern Mexico, where the lack of visitors makes the December holidays bitter, which are usually one of the most important times. of the year.
López Obrador promised to “put Acapulco back on its feet” by Christmas, but restaurateur Juan Manuel Vilchis, one of those affected in the sand strip, assured EFE that you will not be able to “build” your business because the damage is serious and latent, so they will wait until January to begin the remodeling.
“I personally am not going to lift it because I don’t have enough to do it, I lost everything, you already saw my columns, those won’t hold, I put up this temporary tarp,” he explained.
Renting two rooms to two Canadian friends is what now sustains their business, 800 dollars a month that becomes his only incomewhile starting December 26 he will rent the remaining furniture.
“I will rent chairs and tables, sell drinks. We don’t even have coconut, (only) beer, soda. There will be no kitchen service to offer the dishes, but our income will be minimal,” he commented.
A disaster that never ends
The disaster continues after almost two months of the impact of Hurricane Otis, which made landfall on October 25 as a category 5 in the southern state of Guerrero, where it left 52 dead and broke the record for the intensification of a cyclone in the country.
Juan Manuel Vilchis, owner of a destroyed restaurant. Photo EFE
On a visit to Acapulco, the most damaged city, López Obrador reported on Wednesday the availability of 4,534 rooms in 127 hotels.
But in Pie de la Cuesta there are 16 hotels and more than 50 restaurants where the damage was serious and not all of them will reopen, since the authorities indicated that seven businesses are ready to receive tourism, although it will be at 50% of their usual capacity.
Fabiola Hernández Cedeño, a maid at a hotel at the entrance to the town, stated that “there is a lot of work” in the businesses due to the reconstruction work, but the number of tourists and the influx of visitors is minimal.
“There is a lot of work for all the repairs more than anything, there is a lot of dust, a lot of debris still in the surroundings, you have to maintain the rooms. It makes me sad because it is difficult because one maintains oneself from there, from there one survives,” she explained.
Tourism is urgent in Acapulco
The president of the Union of Business Owners of the Pie de la Cuesta Tourist Zone, María Nelly Mejía, said last weekend all the reservations they had were canceled because tourists believe that in Acapulco they continue with “many problems”.
“We have not stopped after the hurricane, here we are a family business, we are all putting in (making an effort) and putting in all the kilos to move this and the season forward, but the bad thing is that tourism is not coming,” he indicated.
A hotel on Pie de la Cuesta beach in Acapulco, Guerrero state (Mexico). Photo EFE
For this reason, a campaign is considered necessary to attract visitors.
“Although reservations are starting again for what is after December 25 and 26we have 40% set aside“That motivates us more to continue working hard to finish and get this 100% ready,” he added.
At the entrance to the businesses, employees carry out cleaning work, repair walls, install air conditioners, paint, build cabins, roofs or in the rooms.
“So that the tourist feels like coming, maybe some colleagues are preparing dinners for Christmas, the end of year party and hopefully with the announcement of the fireworks they will come to Pie de la Cuesta and so we can bid and get ahead of this season,” said Mejía.
For tourism service providers, another hope for the last days of 2023 is holding different social eventsweddings, fifteen years and baptisms, because they say they are ready for the holidays after overcoming the tragedy.
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