Occupancy rates

We were there the second and third week this past month and I noticed the foot traffic down in both Zihua and Ixtapa. Occupancy was way down at the Pacifica with rumors of it being at about 50%. This was very noticeable in the number of palapas and pool side chairs available every morning. The same could be said for the Dorado where friends of ours were staying. One morning while cutting through the property on the way to the beach, I noticed you could pretty much have your pick of a pool side lounge chair and it was about 10:00. We had breakfast one morning with a friend who is employed by the Fontan and he told us they were only 20% filled, mostly Mexican families and some French Canadians.

In talking with a number of others there, the general consensus is that while there was some concern for safety, the economy and the lack of air service (charters in particular) where the biggest deterrent in the noticeable lack of tourist. We haven't had a travel advertisement for Zihua/Ixtapa in our local paper's travel section in over a year.