President promises safer Mexico for tourists

In the wake of the vicious rape of six Spanish tourists in Acapulco, President Enrique Peña Nieto vowed to make Mexico safer for foreign and domestic tourists.

“We will continue working to improve public safety, which is undoubtedly fundamental for promoting our country,” Peña Nieto said during a visit to the Banderas Bay area last week. Tourist safety requires not only a strong security presence, but also quality roads and health care, he added.

Under the president’s new tourism plans, the federal government will promote sustainable development and push for more private investment in the tourism sector.

“Mexico is much more than beautiful beaches, diversification of tourism is key to global competition,” Peña Nieto said, announcing six sectors into which tourism in Mexico can be divided: sun and sand tourism; cultural tourism; ecological and adventure tourism; health tourism; sports tourism; and special interest or luxury tourism.

Peña Nieto’s comments came a day after the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) announced that six men arrested for the rape of six Spanish tourists in Acapulco had confessed to the crime. The incident severely damaged Mexico’s international image, which has already suffered due to mounting drug-related violence in recent years.

Tourist police to return to Guadalajara

The head of Guadalajara’s Department of Tourism has announced the creation of a specialist tourist police unit to assist visitors to the city.

The officers must have university degrees and the ability to speak other languages, said Ramon Godinez Ortiz. Most of the officers are likely to be female, they will be specially trained in aiding tourists and they will not carry firearms, so as not to project an aggressive image, he added.

Mayor Alberto Mora Lopez first introduced a tourist police to Guadalajara in the early 1990s but it was scrapped by subsequent administrations.

Most recently, the city trained over 200 bilingual police officers to care for an anticipated influx of foreign visitors during the 2011 Pan American Games. This temporary tourist police force was formed of young graduates from the Police Academy who had been trained in at least two languages and in some cases taught first aid.

Working across the metropolitan zone, the officers provided guidance and tourist information to visitors and would even escort tourists to their hotels if their alcohol intake meant they could not drive or had to walk through areas of risk while inebriated.