Events such as the disappearance of nine tourists and the murder of five men on a highway are worrying the tourism sector in Oaxaca, the jewel of southern Mexico, where they fear a drop in international visitors to popular destinations such as Huatulco, Puerto Escondido, and Zipolite.
Concern is growing in Oaxaca, a state that welcomed 6 million tourists and 22 billion pesos in 2024, since nine young people disappeared after traveling from Tlaxcala, a state in central Mexico, to Huatulco, a beach in southern Oaxaca.
Some were later found murdered in Puebla, at kilometer 83 of the Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca highway.
Meanwhile, the state Attorney General’s Office reported on Sunday that five people were dead after an armed attack on the Barranca Larga-Ventanilla highway in the municipality of San Sebastián Coatlán.
Lucio Gopar, a tourism promoter in the area, expressed his concern to EFE that Huatulco’s poor image could lead to cancellations, mainly of international tourists, for the upcoming Easter, summer, and New Year’s holidays, when foreigners travel to Oaxaca.
The businessman argued that “Huatulco can’t be categorized because of an event that happened.”
“Maybe something like this hasn’t happened to us in 20 years, so I would encourage people to give us the opportunity to come, to trust that we’re okay and that they can check it out at any time. I invite them to come; it’s a very safe place,” he said.
Seeking to Maintain Paradise
Data from the municipal Tourism Department show that Huatulco’s 36 beaches receive more than 3 million national and international tourists a year, many of whom try the local cuisine at Doña Celia Enríquez Gutiérrez’s restaurant, run by the owner for more than 50 years.
“We are all here to take care of Huatulco because it’s our only sustainable source of income for our families and our businesses—fishermen, restaurateurs, everyone—we live off tourism; there’s nothing else to do,” the 73-year-old businesswoman told EFE.
Although it’s not high season, around 100 foreign tourists visited Santa Cruz Bay last weekend, and the perception of security is satisfactory, according to Jesse, who will spend seven days in Huatulco with his family.
“We’ve been here for seven days, and we haven’t seen any security issues, and the people have been very nice, courteous, and polite the entire time,” he said.
The state defends security
The Oaxaca government, led by the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena), claims that homicides have fallen 30% since 2022, when the previous state administration ended.
Three weeks after the disappearance of the nine young men, Oaxaca prosecutor Bernardo Rodríguez maintained that their alleged execution was a settling of scores by local criminal groups that also belonged to a criminal gang.
“The main line we have is a possible settling of scores between criminal groups, the group that somehow came from the state of Tlaxcala,” the prosecutor said at a press conference.
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Just this Monday, the Oaxaca Prosecutor’s Office announced in a statement the arrest of a Public Ministry agent and commander of the State Investigation Agency, a police division under the Oaxaca Prosecutor’s Office, who was also the head of the Huatulco municipal police command.
He is being detained for his alleged involvement in the forced disappearance of the Tlaxcala youth.
Over the weekend, some 500 tourism service providers held activities to assure national and international tourists that Huatulco is a safe place and that the disappearance of the youth was an isolated incident that has not been seen again in at least the last 20 years.
Source: aristeguinoticias
