I just read an online Mexico news source suggesting that some of the powers that be in the State of Sonora are once again seeking to set up Peñasco as a major stop (and starting point) for the big cruise liners so that residents from “California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico” will flock and deboard here while they ‘sail the seas’.
As you all mostly know, I’m for just about anything that will bring money-spending visitors, businesses and retirees here so we can create more jobs, etc. but like I wrote last week about the flights and that darn highway coming in from the ‘west’, cruising folks may come but the money they spend will be limited to be sure.
First off, if we’re the last stop, they’ll likely not find much of anything they haven’t already seen or bought along that Nautical Ladder; and if we were to become an embarking point for travelers out of the S.W. USA they’ll likely hold on to their Pesos and not spend much until they’ve had a chance to visit other ports along the way.
Having the airport, the highway and cruise ships is all wonderful and I do support them all but we are surely lacking the one key component that I’ve raised on numerous occasions and that is simply the demand (or lack thereof) and/or a ‘reason’ for travelers to want to come here in the first place!
I mean even Baker, CA with a population of around 700 (+ or -) residents has what they claim to be the “world’s tallest thermometer” standing tall at 134 feet (41 m) and tourists, especially from Europe, Asia and Canada, etc. have Baker as a ‘must-do’ on their journeys between (e.g.) L.A. and Vegas, stopping to grab a photo, a quick bite to eat and sometimes stay overnight.
And here in Peñasco we have ‘Mexico’ (that is great!) and the Sea of Cortez but guess what? So do a lot of other places in this wonderful nation and they are all better known and already have the ‘demand’, as in being a ‘must-do’ (see, stop and visit) place to visit.
What we need here is an attraction; something like a Statue Of Tequila, a Small Wall of Peñasco, an Eiffel Telescope, a Taco Mahal, a (very tall) Sonora State Building, a Tortillahenge, etc. I have an idea for what would really work but need an investor who thinks outside the box like Steve Jobs, may God rest his soul!
A Gypsy can always dream!
¡Viva Puerto Peñasco y México!
Gypsy
elgitanopenasco@gmail.com
