Restaurateurs: Condesa is in Chaos

(Acapulco NA 5 August) Reporters from Novedades Acapulco interviewed owners and managers of bars and restaurants along the Condesa stretch of the Costera Alemán, seeking to detect the influence of insecurity on tourism in Acapulco. The conclusion: As locals and tourists alike are staying in at night, and even during the day, “La Condesa” receives fewer and fewer visitors. Rubén Espinoza Lanche, a restaurant owner, summed it up: “The situation is critical; there’s no tourism because it’s unsafe… Here in Condesa there are bars and restaurants that no one visits because the people are afraid.” He added that in past years, the area was bustling at 8:00 at night, “but now, you just don’t see people the way you used to.” Waiters comment that the tips have fallen off to almost nothing, and many places have laid off workers. “By looking at the few pedestrians and customers, one would never know that we are in the high summer season,” they say.