Although
it is yet unknown how many cruise ships will make Mazatlán a port of
call in 2014, the Norwegian Star is scheduled to return four times
before the season ends.
If you happen to be one of the few that climb El Faro in
the early morning hours on Tuesdays, do you remember seeing a cruise
ship below you coming to call on Mazatlán? Do you remember the Thursday
crowds at shops and malls, as tourists hurriedly made their last
purchases before returning to their cruise ship?
During an average season (October – May) 500,000
passengers from cruise ships would roam the streets of Mazatlán, lie on
its beaches, visit El Quelite or other surrounding towns, and, of
course, shop; spending on average between $80 and $100. If you remember
these things, you were probably living in Mazatlán before 2010.
During the 2009-20010 season cruise ships called on
Mazatlán 196 times. But when headlines across the United States began
carrying sordid stories of Mexican drug lords and their ruthless gangs,
people started to think twice about booking that Mexican Riviera cruise.
Stories of decapitated bodies and pictures of slaughtered men hanging
from Mexican bridges just about did in cruise ships calling on Mazatlán.
For the 2010-2011 season Mazatlán lost 40 cruise ships,
which equates to 100,000 tourists and over $8 million in income for the
city. By the following season (2011-2012) only 40 cruise ships elected
to call on Mazatlán. Rock bottom was hit in last year’s season when only
one cruise liner docked in our city.
One can argue about what happened, whether it was
through the hard work of state and local officials, drug lords who
decided to reduce their barbaric actions and move into kidnappings and
extortions, or some other cause or combination thereof. But, whatever
ever the reason, Mazatlán seems to be back on the dance card of cruise
lines plying the waters of the Mexican Riviera.
As the sun set on Mazatlán for the last time in 2013, the 5th
cruise ship of the 2013-2014 season, the Veendam, was leaving for open
waters with happy passengers who had spent their day in our city. And,
as the last revelers climbed out of bed on the first day 2014 the cruise
ship Norwegian Star had taken its place.
Although it is yet unknown how many cruise ships will
make Mazatlán a port of call in 2014, the Norwegian Star is scheduled to
return four times before the season ends and the Veendam will call on
our city three more times. Calling on Mazatlán is no longer a question
of security, but one of economics, as it should be.
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