The violent events that occurred in tourist sites in Quintana Roo, They are extremely regrettable and worrying, however, authorities and the private sector act so that they do not go unpunished, affirmed business leaders of the sector, who stressed that the destinations of the Mexican Caribbean are safe for travelers.
Toni Chaves, president of the Riviera Maya Hotel Association, stressed that it is not a minor matter, but there has been a reaction from the state security authorities, as well as from the Secretariat of the Navy and National Guard, which has allowed the arrest of people involved, both in the shooting of last October 20 in Tulum, where two tourists were killed; as in the murder of two drug dealers in a hotel in Puerto Morelos, occurred last week where a guest was injured.
The police authorities are taking the issue very seriously and the private and tourist sector “we are on top of that,” he added.
He commented that these types of events are caused by the confrontation between drug dealers from rival gangs that are fighting for control of the sale of drugs in the area.
Meanwhile, David Ortiz Mena, president of the Tulum Hotel Association, He stated that what is relevant is that there are consequences and in this case there are. There is good coordination between the three levels of government, which has made it possible to implement security operations in which elements of the federal forces participate, he continued.
For the hotel manager, what is relevant now is that what is necessary is done so that events like these are not repeated. “More than a public security problem, it is one of impunity.”
In turn, the executive president of the Association of Vacation Clubs of Quintana Roo, Miriam Cortés Franco, stated that the message to travelers is that in the destinations of the Mexican Caribbean work is being done to make your vacations enjoyable, complying with health protocols and restoring security in every way.
Undoubtedly, violent events in hotels and tourist attractions affect tourist activity, “because no one goes on a trip with the idea of seeing what happens in terms of security.”
He stressed that they are not isolated events, but neither is it something that is happening every day.
Miriam Cortés Franco commented that for several years, society, businessmen and the government have done a lot of work to improve the security in tourist corridors However, more support from the federation is needed from that entity in the Mexican Caribbean, since they are events related to organized crime, which is difficult to combat only with the capacities of municipal and state authorities.
The tourist representative recalled that about four years ago, the so-called military city was built, in order for federal forces to take root in the state and have health and education services, but later, in 2019, the federal government took them away. to contain the migrants.
He reported that, at that time, important coordinated operations were carried out in Cancún and what happened was that the drug dealers jumped Tulum And now, when operations are carried out there, they go to Riviera Maya and thus, they are jumping from one place to another.
They ask that the federal government keep its word to “shield” Riviera Maya
Toni Chaves said that the businessmen of the sector have made an energetic call to the authorities of the three levels of government to act to guarantee security in the state.
He reported that they have asked the federal government to fulfill its word of “shielding” the Riviera maya and do what you have to do to create conditions of security in the state. Specifically, he requested a greater presence of the Secretary of the Navy (Semar).
The businessman drew attention to the fact that these types of events can slow down the recovery experienced by the sector, after the contraction generated by health measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. He said that with the event of Tulum there were some cancellations, although not widespread.
The businessman commented that so far there have been some messages from US and German authorities to international travelers to try to stay in their hotels.
In that sense, Miriam Cortés mentioned that there have been many calls from travel operators asking if the destination is safe and if they can send their travelers to the Mexican Caribbean.
David Ortiz reported that the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo and the State Secretariat of Tourism have deployed an adequate communication strategy before the industry. While the participation of the Federal Tourism Secretariat (Sectur) has been limited.
They register a slight slowdown in reserves
The president of the Tulum Hotel Association, David Ortiz Mena reported that currently the average occupancy in Tulum is 50 percent.
He said that after the events in TulumOn October 20, there was a slowdown in the pace of reservations, not generalized, but it reached 20% in some cases.
Foreign markets are reactivated
The executive president of the Association of Vacation Clubs of Quintana Roo reported that the traditional markets of these destinations such as the United States, Canada, Spain and Colombia are recovering and, even, travelers are arriving from countries where the attractions of Quintana Roo were rarely sold, such as Russia. In addition, the Brazilian market is rebounding, which had declined before the pandemic.
He reported that in this year, the high seasons were between 75 and 80% occupancy due to the fact that some sanitary restrictions are still maintained to avoid coronavirus infections. Later, in September and October, it fell to 57% and, already on the Dia de Muertos bridge, it rose to around 70 percent.
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Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx