Acapulco is one of Mexico's oldest coastal tourist destinations, reaching prominence in the 1950s as the place where Hollywood stars and millionaires vacationed on the beach in an exotic locale. But nowadays, tourists in Acapulco have been facing problems with local corrupt police who steal money by extortion, and intimidate visitors with threats to jail. The “original” Acapulco, where hotels owned by personalities such as Johnny Weismuller and John Wayne are located, is on the northern end of the bay. This is where the boardwalk and main square are and today the area is filled with modern, Mexican style hotels, with discothèques and restaurants in walking distance. This side of the bay is also known as “Tradicional” or “Nautica.”
The south end of the bay holds the newer constructions, including the high rise hotels. This area includes Punta Diamante, Puerto Marqués, and stretches from the airport to the Papagayo River which separates it from the older section of town. In this area, no one walks as almost all transportation is by car, limousine or golf cart. The older section of town now mostly caters to middle class, almost exclusively Mexican clientele, while the glitzier newer section caters to international visitors and the Mexican upper classes, many of whom never venture into the older, traditional part of town. This area also has the higher hotel occupancy rates.
Acapulco's reputation is that of a high-energy party town, where one can have dinner at midnight, dance until dawn then relax in the daytime on the beach crowded with sexy bodies in bikinis. The nightlife has made this place famous for decades. From November to April, luxury liners stop here daily and include ships such as the MS Queen Victoria, the MS Rotterdam, Crystal Harmony as well as all the Princess liner ships. Despite its international fame, most of Acapulco's visitors are from central Mexico, especially the affluent from Mexico City. Acapulco is one of the embarkation ports for the Mexican cruise line Ocean Star Cruises.
For the Christmas season of 2009, Acapulco received 470,000 visitors, most of whom are Mexican nationals adding 785 million pesos to the economy. Eighty percent arrive by land and 18 percent by air. The area has over 25,000 condominiums, most of which function as second homes for their Mexican owners. Acapulco is still popular with Mexican celebrities and wealthy, such as Luis Miguel, Plácido Domingo and Dolores Olmedo, who maintain homes here.
While much of the glitz and glamour that made Acapulco famous still remains, from the latter 20th century on, the city has also taken on other less-positive reputations. Some consider it a “passé” resort, eclipsed by the newer Cancún and Cabo San Lucas. Over the years a number of problems have developed here, especially in the bay and the older sections of the city. The large number of wandering vendors on the beaches such as Tamarindos, who offer everything from newspapers to massages are a recognized problem. It is a bother to tourists who simply want to relax on the beach but the government says is difficult to eradicate as there is a lot of unemployment and poor here. Around the city are many shantytowns that cling onto the mountainsides, populated by migrants who have come here looking for work. Prostitution is also common here as well. In the last decade, drug related violence has caused problems for the tourism trade here.
Another problem is garbage that has accumulated in the bay. Although 60.65 tons have recently been extracted from the bays of Acapulco and nearby Zihuatanejo, more needs to be done. Most of trash that is cleaned up during the off seasons is done on the beaches and in the waters closest to them. However, the center of the bay is not touched. The reason trash winds up in the bay is that it is common here to throw it in streets, rivers and the bay itself. The most common items cleaned out of the bay are beer bottles and car tires.