According to a report in De Frente, Puerto Peñasco has seen 10% more tourists this summer than during the same period in 2008, predominantly comprising nationals from Baja California, Chihuahua and throughout Sonora.
According to Rafael Gonzalez Valenzuela, the director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), Puerto Peñasco has benefited from an influx of approximately 18 thousand tourists so far this summer and the town is expecting an additional 12 thousand by the end of the Summer holiday season. The total number in the 2008 Summer season barely exceeded 25 thousand tourists total.
Gonzalez Valenzuela said occupancy rates for hotels, rental houses and condominiums has fluctuated between 58% and 75% during weekends and around 54% during the week days. Not included in those figures is the number of visitors who make up the "informal" tourism population, comprising those who camp on the beach, or stay in homes of relatives or friends. That number is expected to range between 3 thousand and 5 thousand people by the end of the holiday season.
The statement by Gonzalez Valenzuela appears to be born out by anecdotal reports of greater numbers of Mexican license plates from out of the area that have been noted in the parking lots of condo resorts and hotels, as well as the number of vacationing Mexican families enjoying the beaches, the malecon and some local restaurants.
Gonzalez Valenzuela also indicated that the recent spate of violence in Rocky Point did not seem to have affected the national market, as nationals see those events as isolated and not a factor in their choice of a vacation destination. He said the CVB has not registered any cancellations attributable to violence in Puerto Peñasco.
