Mar, Sol, Arena y FantaZIHa

Disneyland is American tourism that caters to young families who grew up with the corporate marketing of Mickey Mouse etc. I fail to understand how Zihua being recognized as a magical coastal tourist destination competes with families going to Florida and southern California for a theme park experience and is somehow a negative for tourism in our community. Can you send the data you're referring to that supports this is a negative recognition for our community who benefits from tourism exposure?

My experience is anecdotal, but everyone I know who has gone to Zihua loved it specifically because it's not Disneyland, Cancun, Cabo, or Acapulco. It may not be what you experienced 20 years ago, but visitors still find some rural charm and it might benefit your clients who advertise here if you were to embrace that and find the silver lining.

Most people I know who are around my age and who grew up here have no difficulty understanding my comments. Perhaps I don't explain myself as well in English as I do in Spanish (I rarely speak English anymore). I have this conversation often with locals and it seems as if most of us are of the same mind. However younger locals rarely have a clue what I'm talking about. They know nothing better than what they have except perhaps those who have lived in other places.

Disneyland is a metaphor. It's the mass marketing (and lack of real promotion) that's hurting us along with making beach rules that drive away people who travel with furry family members. No one here except some beachfront restaurants is enjoying much prosperity. For example, we used to sell thousands of pesos worth of products a day in our boutique. But we had to drop the hand-made clothing line we used to carry because there aren't enough people spending that kind of money here anymore. Our friends with local shops work harder than ever to make ends meet because they don't enjoy the amount of sales they used to. Our tourist base has become cheaper, and I've named the factors that cause this numerous times here: all-included hotels, mass marketing (instead of targeted marketing), driving away tourists with the purchasing power we need via banning pets and foodstuffs from some beaches, lack of affordable flights, zero promotion abroad, and simulated promotion here in Mexico that hasn't produced anything remotely resembling sustainable tourism. Ixtapa is a sad caricature of what it was before all of the hotels in Zona Hotelera I were allowed to offer exclusively all-included packages, and the federal government is about to hand control of Ixtapa over to our local municipal government, a move locals know will not bode well for Ixtapa once vote-seeking politicians take control.

I've discussed this topic quite a bit here on my Message Board over the past couple of decades, and you can go back and read where I predicted our current circumstances around 15 or so years ago, particularly about the Disneyfication of Zihuatanejo, going all gimmicky and trying to be something we aren't while competing for the same tourists as other places that are nothing like Zihuatanejo. I predicted it would be our downfall, and it's become our reality.

Zihuatanejo isn't just a tourist destination. It's a community first, and the community's needs must come before the needs of its tourism industry. We don't exist to work for tourists or to fulfill their fantasies. Tourists should come to visit because we have a beautiful environment and a happy community, something we no longer enjoy with the influx of outsiders all trying to suckle off our cash cow, the land invasions permitted by politicians seeking clients (and with the help of foreigners in some cases), and the increase in public insecurity. We're also not exactly thrilled with our lack of local affordable health care either, but that's a different discussion.

Oops, siesta time. Gotta go. ¡Provecho!