The acts of violence that occurred in the neighboring state of Sinaloa have a severe impact on the local economy, especially in the area of reservations and all the activities related to the operation of travel agencies, as announced by the head of AACYTED (Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies in the State of Durango), Héctor Zaragoza Solís, who also explained that sales have been reduced by up to 80 percent.
Likewise, the tourism representative assured that the cancellations or low demand have not only been reflected on the beaches of Sinaloa, but also in each of the ports of the Riviera Nayarit, this, derived from the fact that tourists from Durango or states located to the north of this entity, are forced to travel along the Super Highway.
“Right now the situation, frankly, has reached alarming levels for all travel agencies in Durango. We are practically operating at only 20% capacity. The number of reservation requests for everything related to Mazatlán, Culiacán, some magical towns in Sinaloa, and even a large part of the Riviera Nayarit has completely stopped… The only people who are traveling to this part of the country are those who arrive in Sinaloa out of necessity.”
Meetings have been postponed
He indicated that unfortunately, the working groups that the state government has sought to establish with the Sinaloa governor and the Mexican Army have been postponed, a situation that, indirectly, could cause the closure of 50 percent of businesses dedicated to this line of business.
“We have not had any record of tourists from Durango who have been directly affected by the clashes or the insecurity in Culiacán. The only thing we have learned is that the most affected by this situation has been the movement of merchandise because none of our agencies’ expeditions have dared to put the integrity of the clientele at risk.”
Finally, Zaragoza Solís said that, generally when this type of incident permeates one of the most requested destinations nationwide, the hotel industry and all those businesses that are dedicated to the rental of real estate, tend to present a significant drop in their prices, which can be translated as an economic boost for travel agencies in Durango. However, as the security situation is still not clear, this continues to blur the clarity of sales for local travel agencies.
Source: milenio
