Devastation in Acapulco: Tourist Businesses Hit Hard by Hurricane Otis

2023-10-27 22:33:15

Around 80% of the businesses related to tourist activity were affected on the coasts of Acapulco, in Guerrero, one of the most important tourist destinations in Mexico, following the hit of Hurricane Otis.

Among the buildings affected is the Emporio Hotel, where one of the most popular episodes of ‘El Chavo del 8’ was recorded.

(You may be interested in: Shocking videos: the destruction in Acapulco following Hurricane Otis passed through Mexico).

In less than 12 hours, Hurricane Otis went from a tropical storm to a category 5, the maximum on the Saffir Simpson scale.

Cyclone Otis, which reached the coast of Guerrero in Mexico on Tuesday, October 24, left 27 dead and four missing following growing from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane in less than 12 hours, as reported on Thursday by the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Rosa Icela Rodríguez.

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“It went from a tropical storm to category 5, the maximum on the Saffir Simpson scale, that is, from winds of 64 kilometers per hour it grew to 270 kilometers per hour,” Icela Rodríguez explained at a Government press conference.

Among the damages counted so far, the Government counted more than half a million people who were left without electricity, six road closures, damage to the Regional General Hospital 1 of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Acapulco, and destruction in the 80% of hotels on the coast.

“We are going to deal with everything related to the damage left by Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, also in Coyuca de Benítez and in other municipalities, however, the greatest damage is in Acapulco,” commented the president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The South Coast of Guerrero was cut off for approximately 24 hours following the impact of Otis.

Affectation to the tourism sector

The hotels are very destroyed, the restaurants are very destroyed, the businesses are very destroyed, today we do not have this quantification of damage

The president of the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Concanaco Servytur), Héctor Tejeda, detailed this Thursday in a press conference that, although 83,801 businesses have been registered in the southern state of Guerrero, it has not yet been calculated the specific damage that the tertiary sector might have suffered in the area affected by the hurricane.

“The hotels are very destroyed, the restaurants are very destroyed, the businesses are very destroyed, today we do not have this quantification of damage, although we will eventually have it and they must also coincide with the official data,” said Tejada.

However, he pointed out that the most important thing at this moment, beyond economic recovery, is to address the humanitarian crisis that all residents and visitors in the entity are facing.

(We recommend you read: Will Hurricane Otis in Mexico reach California? There is already a forecast).

‘El Chavo del 8’ hotel in ruins

Images of different buildings destroyed due to the hurricane went viral on social networks, however, one of the ones that caused the most impact was the Emporio Hotel, a luxurious building that is recognized for having been the recording set of the ‘El Chavo’ episode. of 8 El Viaje a Acapulco’, in which the entire production traveled to Guerrero.

The Emporio Hotel, formerly known as Continental, was the place that gave life to one of the episodes of ‘El Chavo’ that was broadcast in the 80s and 90s on Latin American television stations.

Images and videos have been published showing the material damage to the venue that opened the doors to the comedy program in 1979.

We are going to compare tourist entities what happened with Cancun, that following its last hurricane there were hotels that took up to two years to recover

Levy Abraham Macari, president of Concanaco Servytur of the city of Mérida, estimated that the recovery of tourist activities will be slow and even anticipated that the physical infrastructure of hotels and certain establishments may take up to two years to be completely reestablished.

(In context: The destruction of Hurricane Otis in the tourist area of ​​Acapulco, Mexico).

“We are going to compare tourist entities what happened with Cancun, that following its last hurricane there were hotels that took up to two years to recover,” he emphasized, referring to the large-magnitude event in Cancun, Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

However, following the damage reported in Hurricane Otis, the Government of Mexico will activate two funds for more than 600 million dollars to face the material devastation, according to Gabriel Yorio, undersecretary of Finance and Public Credit.

*Note made with information from EFE

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