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Puerto Vallarta
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September 15th to 22nd, 2002
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Incidence of Credit Card Cloning
High in Vallarta
According to Maria del Socorro, local
President of CANIRAC (the National Chamber of the Restaurant
Industry), Puerto Vallarta is no stranger to credit
card cloning. Cases have been reported where employees
have been caught in flagrante delito, resulting in arrests
and convictions.
"They don't realize that they
are damaging their business," she said, adding
that this was the reason why CANIRAC is forced to institute
preventive measures so that diners will not be surprised
by illegal charges on their credit card statements.
In Puerto Vallarta, the number of
cases of credit card cloning is considered high, although
exact data could not be supplied. The local delegation
of the Attorney General's Office is aware of the complaints
and has the information required to convict the guilty.
Del Socorro stated that the main
recommendation contained in the preventive measures
proposed by the Federal Government refers to the customer
himself who should make his payment directly and personally
at the cash of the establishment thus keeping his credit
card in view at all times, while avoiding it being taken
away by the waiter. Cashiers should fill out the chits
in front of the customer.
"Disloyal employees can record
the codes contained in the magnetic strip of the credit
card, decode them later on and use them fraudulently
at the cost of the customer," she added. It will
also be necessary to create a data bank so that all
CANIRAC members will avoid hiring persons who have been
caught committing this type of fraud.
With today's technological advances
and according to the numbers given by the Bankers' Association
of Mexico, companies such as American Express, Visa
and Mastercard suffered losses greater than $100. Million
U.S. Dollars over the past year alone.
New Movie Theater Opens
Our readers may have noticed that
there was a new listing among our movie theaters on
the directory page of this publication last week.
After a long wait of nearly two years,
months of wondering and not knowing, Vallartans now
have a brand new movie theater called "Multicinemas
Versalles". The building is on Francisco Villa
Avenue, conveniently located in the busy, densely populated
Versalles neighborhood.
The theater includes five screening
rooms, with a capacity of 170 seats each. There is also
a cafeteria inside and plenty of parking spots outside.
The official opening took place at
the beginning of this month in the presence of many
select guests and city personalities and authorities.
Vallarta's Needs Lack Governmental
Responses
The "flight" of tourism
to destinations in the Bahía de Banderas areas
in the state of Nayarit (on the north coast of the bay),
blockades by taxis or tourist buses, traffic problems
and the lack of response from the local authorities
to the petitions of the tourism sector are all "yellow
lights" that sound the alert in Puerto Vallarta
and should cause concern. According to the former President
of the local Chamber of Commerce, these problems are
caused in great part by the lack of response on the
part of the local authorities.
Rapprochement Requested
Tourism businessmen that make up
the Consulting Council of the Municipal Tourism Department
asked for a rapprochement with the municipal authorities,
and not to be ignored when decisions are made. To that
end, it was agreed in a recent meeting that communication
channels will be re-established between the Council
and the authorities.
Representing the collegiate body,
Sr. Hector Perez and Nacho Cadena advised the Mayor
that there have been cases where their Council had been
pushed into the background.
"If we are a Consulting Council
to the Municipal Tourism Department, we would like to
be able to analyze and counsel the Mayor so that he
may take the appropriate measures," said Sr. Perez.
At the meeting held at the Fiesta
Americana Hotel, town Councilwoman Gloria Palacios (who
is also a member of the Consulting Council) justified
the gentlemen's claim and acknowledged that there had
been no follow-up to requests that had been made. "We
really should pay attention to them because the Council
has offered to counsel the Mayor in matters related
to tourism, without asking for any remuneration or compensation.
If we have these people with ample
experience in the field and they are not charging us
for their services, we should take advantage of it,
because we are dealing with people who have no other
agenda than serving Puerto Vallarta and more importantly,
they are fully aware of the problems facing this destination,"
she added.
Ms. Palacios admitted that in the
"historical" downtown area alone, there is
no respect for the regulations that govern commercial
signs, as most business are in violation of such regulations
and this damages the image perceived by visitors.
Regarding the criticism to which
the State Governor has been subjected with regard to
establishing the location of a convention center, Sr.
Perez said that the Governor had adopted an intelligent
position. "If he has not made a definite statement
yet, it is because no one has presented him with the
numbers related to its construction," he stated.
He went on to explain that the Consulting
Council on Tourism wants to know the parameters of a
study, if it exists, and then, based on reason, it could
determine the profile a convention center would require
or discard the idea, as the case may be.
"We have heard that they have
been arguing for the center to be built in a specific
spot, but until now no one has submitted a study that
would tell us how many additional room nights would
result from the existence of a convention center,"
said Sr. Perez.
World Tourism Day
Friday, September 27th will mark
the 23rd World Tourism Day in the municipality of Bahía
de Banderas, on the north coast of the bay in the State
of Nayarit.
Three days earlier and culminating
on the 27th, Puerto Vallarta will host the 5th Annual
Congress of the Mexican Association of Water Parks and
Seaside Resorts that will include specialists in motivation
and leadership, marketing and advertising, viability
of social tourism, security and maintenance, service
quality, among many others.
On the 27th, Agenda 21 will be presented
regarding Mexican tourism, a program whose objective
is to define the measures to be taken to achieve the
sustainable development in tourism in the years to come.
Solution to Blockades Postponed
Spokespersons for the municipal Department
of Tourism acknowledged that the elimination of "pirating"
and illegal competition is one of the main demands expressed
by both tourist transport providers and taxi drivers,
in order to proceed with the type of rapprochement that
leads to concrete agreements regarding the problem of
blockades of tourist transportation units in this port.
"The first step towards a solution
to the problem of tourist transportation is to end illegal
competition, considering that both parties have requested
this," sais the City's Director of Tourism. Also
mentioned was the matter of foreign guides who offer
their services to tourists without proper permits or
authorization.
Attorney General's Help Sought
to Open New Accesses to Beaches
The help of the Attorney General's
Office will be sought in order to guarantee the opening
of new accesses to public beaches, officially recognized
by the Coordination Sub-Committee of the federal maritime
land zone, this to establish the procedures that would
declare the right of passage to federal zones.
In order to accomplish this, the
procedures established by the regulations on the use
of beaches, navigable waterways, territorial waters,
etc. will have to be exhausted and some owners that
may be affected by the measure may have to be compensated.
Three years ago, on September 14th,
1999, the City Council had approved the establishment
of nine new public accesses to the beaches located at
the Bay View Grand Hotel, next to the Marriott, another
near the Melía, Punta Peninsula, one near the
Port Authorities facilities, one at the Krystal Hotel,
another two on the north and south banks of the Pitillal
river and another in the Los Tules property.
Projects for access to the beaches
in Marina Vallarta are scheduled for presentation at
the September 26th meeting of the City Council, but
first they must have the conclusions of the directors
of the Urban Planning Department, who are contemplating
a visit to the area before coming to any conclusions…
Owners of properties where such accesses
would be built will have the right to compensation based
on rates established by the Assessment Commission of
National Assets (CABIN). Should the owners not agree,
the Department of National Resources will have the right
to ask for the help of the Attorney General's Office
to initiate the appropriate litigation in order to acquire
said right of access.
$5 Million Pesos to Fix Potholes
The number of potholes in the streets
and roads of the town has increased during this rainy
season. Consequently, the City Council has allocated
$5 Million Pesos to maintain the roadways, this despite
a severe shortage in personnel.
The City's Chief of Maintenance in
the Public Works Department acknowledged that the work
has progressed very slowly. He added that the problem
appears in asphalt surfaces where potholes appear suddenly.
These are filled immediately, but reappear in the prevailing
humid conditions. He claims that the potholes cannot
be prevented. There are 65 employees working on the
job 10 hours per day.
Municipal Authorities Acknowledge
Need for Conurbation with Bahía de Banderas
Before the proposals for the conurbation
of Puerto Vallarta with Bahía de Banderas on
the Nayarit State side and the integration with the
Costa Alegre region contained in the master plan for
urban and tourist development, there is a need for infrastructural
works for which neither the resources of the municipalities
nor those of the state can suffice. Thus it is absolutely
necessary to demand once and for all that the Federation
pay the appropriate attention needed for the development
of the region. Deputy Mayor Ignacio Guzmán stated
that traditionally, Vallarta has always been denied
federal resources, so he added "we hope that now
the Federation will finally give Vallarta what it really
generates, an income of funds and earnings from taxes
which, according to the commitment, must be returned
in works and infrastructure."
All-Terrain Rally?
Puerto Vallarta's First All-Terrain
Rally Cup is scheduled for September 21st and 22nd.
Over 100 tubular vehicles of all types were expected,
4 x 4, jeeps, dune buggies, etc.
All drivers in 4-wheel vehicles over
18 years of age may participate. Minors with a letter
of authorization from their parents and an official
sports driver's license may do so as well. Registration
fees is $1,000. pesos for the drivers and $500. pesos
for the passenger. Winners will be those who complete
the route in the least amount of time. First place wins
50 per cent of the total registration purse, second
place gets 30 per cent and third place 20 per cent.
For more information, all those interested may log on
to: www.offroad.com.mx
Let the Campaign Continue
The local representative of the Mexican
Front for Human Rights recommended to the Mayor of Puerto
Vallarta that the campaign against the Sexual Exploitation
of Children continue, ignoring the interpretations of
representatives of the North American community and
certain sectors of society that have expressed themselves
against the dissemination of the problem, as it promotes
a certain image of the destination.
The origin of the controversy occurred
during the first week of September during the Council
meeting when the President of the DIF (system for Integral
Family Development) requested $9,800. pesos to produce
and install six billboards promoting child protection.
That is when the opinions of some council members arose,
arguing that this propaganda would not solve the problem,
while damaging the image of Puerto Vallarta.
For his part, the Mayor stated that
those opposed to the campaign are people who are not
familiar with the work that is being done by the "Por
Nuestros Niños" (For Our Children) association.
Nevertheless, he added that the content of the campaign
will be redefined. (Radio 650, Sept. 6, 2002)
Golf Tournament - An Invaluable
Promotion
The Tour of the Americas Players
Championship backed by the Mexican Golf Federation and
the PGA is set to take place on El Tigre course at the
Paradise Village Resort from October 10th to 13th of
this year.
This unique event will also represent
greater promotion for the World Cup to be played here
in mid-December and which will be televised across the
world. The Tour of the Americas is the 11th of 19 dates
scheduled by the organizers throughout this year. So
far, one tournament has been played in the Bahamas,
Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama, while 2 were played
in each of the following countries: the United States,
Argentina and Mexico.
A total of 98 golfers will participate,
from the above-mentioned countries as well as from Paraguay,
Brazil, Columbia, Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, Japan,
Sweden, Ireland, Scotland and Portugal.
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