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Rob , you posted "We're certainly happy to welcome everyone here, but this is NOT sustainable tourism by any stretch of the imagination, no matter how many times our local government claims it is." what is your take on this issue ? Why Cann't local business make a lining off of normal national tourism ? and what should be done to make it posable ? TIA Ed

Zihuatanejo continues losing its principal attraction and its character to more and more cement and stupid rules that prevent people from being able to enjoy our beaches normally. Apparently there are no building codes, no ecological codes. These people were all too happy to see our ecological zones erased and populated. Anything goes as long as it means more cement gets poured. The great mistake of electing a mayor and his wife who own a cement company. For over a couple of decades now, the municipal government and the people entrusted with attracting visitors to our area never understood our tourism and they continue to totally ignore Zihuatanejo's historical niche in the tourism market. They simply imitate other places and pretend Acapulco, Vallarta, Mazatlán, Cancún, and Los Cabos are our competition when our main tourism has ALWAYS been people seeking to avoid those overdeveloped places. They've turned Zihuatanejo into a Disneyandish place devoid of its original character. We barely even have any cruise ships. And to make things worse, they've done NOTHING to curb the tendency by the beachfront hotels in the Zona Hotelera I in Ixtapa to offer only all-included packages. Cheapening our destination and hoarding the tourists they attract so they never puchase anything outside the hotel.

The more we compete for tourists from other places, the more we lose since we will never be those other places. People looking for an Acapulco or Cancún vacation should not come here. They will be disappointed, and I read their complaints daily.

Instead of actively seeking the type of visitors we need, which requires some knowledge and actual work, they stupidly entrust "influencers" and travel agents from other places to send us tourism, and the tourists they send have less and less purchasing power. For the travel agents, it's all about filling charter buses with "thrifty" day-trippers and sending them here with no money to spend. No one local is doing anything to actively seek out the visitors we need who will appreciate Zihuatanejo for what it is instead of trying to turn it into something it isn't. The more I watch us change, the more I watch us lose the tourism we need. Extremely frustrating.

People who stay in condos and luxury homes, some built by speculators who don't live here, an increasing number built by people laundering money including corrupt politicians and narcos, don't bring us the income our community needs to prosper. Hotels and small family-owned inns do, but only if they don't hoard the tourists as the hotels in Ixtapa do. But now we have time-shares in Zihuatanejo, adding to our cheapening and our economic collapse. And our hillsides and beachfronts are filling up with condos. I watched this process ruin communities in Florida. And today, similar to what's happening in places like Spain, Italy and Greece, a growing number of mostly young Mexicans are voicing their concerns about the gentrification process, the increasing cost of living and rents due to the arrival of mostly foreigners who will of course pay more than locals can for lodging and services, pushing locals out of being able to remain in their communities. I've seen this first-hand up close and personal over and over in the USVI and Florida. The dark side of relying exclusively on a tourist economy.

I don't see any change of course coming from the current local or state government. They both want to turn the entire Costa Grande into a solid coastline of tourist development like Punta Diamante in Acapulco. At least, that's been their stated goal. Hopefully our next elections will bring more capable and altruistic people working for the prosperity of the community more than their own. I can always hope.