ROCKY POINT, Sonora –
The sound of heavy machinery scraping against rocks and an overwhelming
smell of diesel fuel invade an otherwise serene desert beach where
Mexico will spend roughly $100 million building its first cruise-ship
home port.
The Mexican government chose to build the port
in the sleepy beach town of Puerto Peñasco, better known as Rocky Point,
because of its proximity to the United States and potential as a future
international tourism destination.
"It is the most important
project the city has ever had," said Miguel Guevara, director of
promotion and international affairs for the city.
Construction
workers spend their days dumping rocks, making concrete blocks and
placing them along the breakwater to prepare the port for a January 2017
opening.
Officials said they hope the roughly mile-long port will
tap into the growing cruise-ship industry by offering passengers an
opportunity to explore the Sea of Cortez.
Proponents said the port could attract 3,000 new weekly visitors and transform the city's economy.
However, critics said the port could negatively impact local residents, wildlife and biodiversity.
Rocky
Point is about 200 miles southwest of Phoenix and Tucson in Sonora,
Mexico, along the Gulf of California. Some have nicknamed the town
"Arizona's beach" because it's a three and half hour drive from both
cities.
Tourism in the town, historically driven by fishing, is increasing with a majority of the town's visitors coming from Arizona.
Rosie
Glover, a co-founder of the Rocky Point Tourism and Visitor Assistance
Office, said the increase in tourism has been "surprisingly dramatic and
not gradual at all."
Guevara said tourism dropped after the 2009
recession and though the city has not fully recovered, some have seen
impressive gains.
"For the last six months or more, we've been busy every single week," Glover said.
Residents
said there's been talk around the town about the home port for decades,
but many people didn't take the project seriously until recently, when
construction began in December 2013.
The government has already spent roughly $40 million on the port, which is about 50 percent completed, Guevara said.
Mexican
authorities support the project because it will benefit the entire
country's economy, said Jose Luís Castro, director of port operations
for the Sonora government's tourism department.
Castro said money would flow into cities situated on the cruise ships' routes, like San Felipe, Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan.
Joe Houchin, who has followed the cruise industry for decades, said the cit
ies
have opportunities for repeat visitors because 80 percent of cruise
goers choose land vacations based on the destinations they visit on a
cruise.
Castro said millions of the country's residents
want to take a cruise, but don't have visas — leaving that market
largely untapped.
In addition, officials hope to attract millions of international visitors annually.
"Our
main market is and will always be Arizona, but the home port will bring
people from other states to come and start their trip on the Sea of
Cortez," Guevara said.
The proximity to the U.S. made the town an ideal location, said Gustavo Brown, owner of Sandy Beach Resorts.
"With half a tank full of gas, you've got a whole family at the destination," Brown said of Arizonans.
Brown
donated 12 acres of land for the construction of the home port and
terminal on Sandy Beach, just west of the tourist strip.
"Our
dream is to create a mega tourist resort in which we could have people
from all around the world to come see us," Brown said.
