4.10.1 Markets
Mexico City and its surrounding metropolis remains the most vital domestic market
for Acapulco due to the relatively short period of time required to travel from one to
the other. However, it is only during Mexican national vacations and certain
weekends that hotels operate at full capacity and businesses achieve substantial
profit; usually Acapulco is quiet, with the majority of amenities and attractions
struggling to sustain their activities over time.
Here, the authorities say we had an excellent weekend- 80% full; then on Monday it is 6%.
There is no equilibrium point. (Participant 1, personal communication, January 11, 2016)
Consequently, the destination capitals need to be exploited in a manner which
stimulates consistent visitor numbers, with strategies being required which would
entice the inhabitants of the Mexico City metropolis and other domestic markets to
visit more frequently and to extend their length of stay. However, the problem is not
limited to the shortage of visitor numbers; another issue that has arisen is the decline
in the purchasing power parity of Acapulco’s domestic visitors. That is, it is
increasingly common for tourists to reside in illegal establishments and obtain all
their necessities at local convenience stores and supermarkets, hence earning the
label ‘Walmart tourists’ (Fausset 2013). As a result, it has become necessary to focus
on attracting higher-spending visitors in the form of affluent Mexicans and international tourists, although this in itself is problematic because prosperous Mexicans
wishing to visit Acapulco on a regular basis tend to buy second residence homes in
the Diamond Zone, while foreign visitors have been discouraged by the insecurity
issues present in recent years, to such an extent that there are now very few
international flights arriving in Acapulco. To regain an international market,
Acapulco’s tourism authorities must negotiate with tour operators in a bid to revive
air connectivity and subsequently produce promotion strategies designed to kindle
interest among the destination’s historic US market; nonetheless, efforts will be in
vain unless two prevalent issues are dealt with: firstly, that the majority of the
security problems are resolved and the US government withdraws its advisory that
warns against travel to the state of Guerrero and, secondly, that the quality and
diversity of the Acapulco tourism product is improved to meet the expectations of a
new market. Suffice to mention that the US Spring Break segment was successfully
targeted for a short period recently (Monterrubio et al. 2013), but has since
disappeared due to an escalation in insecurity.
4.10.2 Products
As discussed in detail above, there exists much potential in Acapulco to exploit
deteriorating or undeveloped environmental and cultural capital that would serve to
diversify its tourism product. For instance, the destination’s tourism authorities
56
M. Speakman and A. D. Garay
Mexico City and its surrounding metropolis remains the most vital domestic market
for Acapulco due to the relatively short period of time required to travel from one to
the other. However, it is only during Mexican national vacations and certain
weekends that hotels operate at full capacity and businesses achieve substantial
profit; usually Acapulco is quiet, with the majority of amenities and attractions
struggling to sustain their activities over time.
Here, the authorities say we had an excellent weekend- 80% full; then on Monday it is 6%.
There is no equilibrium point. (Participant 1, personal communication, January 11, 2016)
Consequently, the destination capitals need to be exploited in a manner which
stimulates consistent visitor numbers, with strategies being required which would
entice the inhabitants of the Mexico City metropolis and other domestic markets to
visit more frequently and to extend their length of stay. However, the problem is not
limited to the shortage of visitor numbers; another issue that has arisen is the decline
in the purchasing power parity of Acapulco’s domestic visitors. That is, it is
increasingly common for tourists to reside in illegal establishments and obtain all
their necessities at local convenience stores and supermarkets, hence earning the
label ‘Walmart tourists’ (Fausset 2013). As a result, it has become necessary to focus
on attracting higher-spending visitors in the form of affluent Mexicans and international tourists, although this in itself is problematic because prosperous Mexicans
wishing to visit Acapulco on a regular basis tend to buy second residence homes in
the Diamond Zone, while foreign visitors have been discouraged by the insecurity
issues present in recent years, to such an extent that there are now very few
international flights arriving in Acapulco. To regain an international market,
Acapulco’s tourism authorities must negotiate with tour operators in a bid to revive
air connectivity and subsequently produce promotion strategies designed to kindle
interest among the destination’s historic US market; nonetheless, efforts will be in
vain unless two prevalent issues are dealt with: firstly, that the majority of the
security problems are resolved and the US government withdraws its advisory that
warns against travel to the state of Guerrero and, secondly, that the quality and
diversity of the Acapulco tourism product is improved to meet the expectations of a
new market. Suffice to mention that the US Spring Break segment was successfully
targeted for a short period recently (Monterrubio et al. 2013), but has since
disappeared due to an escalation in insecurity.
4.10.2 Products
As discussed in detail above, there exists much potential in Acapulco to exploit
deteriorating or undeveloped environmental and cultural capital that would serve to
diversify its tourism product. For instance, the destination’s tourism authorities
56
M. Speakman and A. D. Garay