The citizens of the largest tourist destinations in Mexico perceive more insecurity, including in Puerto Vallarta.
In Puerto Vallarta, more than half of the population, 56.4 percent, feel vulnerable, contrary to 38.7 percent registered in December 2018.
In the case of Cancun, the country’s largest tourist destination, 93.3 percent of the population considered their area unsafe at the end of March 2019, while in December it was 89 percent, according to the National Survey of Urban Public Safety of the INEGI.
Acapulco, the closest beach destination for Mexico City, reported an increase of three tenths in the perception of insecurity of the inhabitants, however, it stood at 87.7 percent at the end of March.
Meanwhile, 61.2 percent of the inhabitants of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, believe that they live in dangerous conditions in the survey last March, while in December 2018, the percentage was 56.4.
Manzanillo, Colima, a beach destination that coexists with the largest commercial port in the country, reported a perception of insecurity of its inhabitants of 72 percent, up from 66.8 percent.
Alejandro Hope, security analyst, said there is a possibility that while the locals feel insecure, the travelers too.
For Javier Oliva, a specialist in security issues at UNAM, it is not something that resulted from the change of government.
“The issue of security had already exploded in the past six years and now, as there are no programs that fight organized crime, the predecessor administration is blamed. Entrepreneurs are right to ask for promotion resources,” he said.
Pablo Azcárraga, president of the National Tourism Business Council (CNET), indicated that the problem persists as in recent years and worsens when the negative perception grows and there is no promotion.
The survey does not consider crime statistics, the measurements are only based on the personal perception of safety. Mexican Nationals make up the polling participants, foreigners and tourists are not including in the polling samples.
