By José Antonio Pérez
Héctor Vázquez del Mercado, president of the Puerto Peñasco Convention & Visitors Bureau (OCV), reported with close to 125 thousand visitors and economic revenue of over 100 million pesos, Semana Santa (Holy Week) has solidified itself as the main generator of tourism and economy for Puerto Peñasco.
While during the first week of the vacation period hotels and resorts were showing 69% capacity, by Easter weekend this had gone up to 90%, with some of them at 100% capacity. Vázquez del Mercado detailed that hotels and resorts alone, representing 6,500 rooms and condos, were host to some 61,500 visitors, while local homes and camp sites accounted for another 60 thousand.
A press release issued by the Puerto Peñasco Convention and Visitors Bureau provided further insight into the busy weekend.
Semana Santa 2019 in figures:
- 300 state police agents helps strengthen safety measures
- The Red Cross responded to over 100 emergency calls including injuries from road accidents, illnesses, stingray stings, and other emergencies that arose.
- More than 15 minors were reported lost in the most heavily visited areas, who were reunited with their parents.
- More than 30 vehicles were impacted after being flooded by the high tide in the area of Cholla Bay
- No cases of food poisoning were reported.
- Nearly 50 tons of trash were collected over the period from Thursday, April 18th through Monday, April 22nd
- Twenty-five members and 11 workers from the temporary jobs program participated in clean-up and trash collection efforts on public beaches and main streets.
Puerto Peñasco still anticipates thousands of visitors for the second week of this popular vacation period.