While gradually moving ahead on steps to reactivate the local economy and get his constituents back to work, Chapala Mayor Moisés Anaya is not particularly anxious to go full tilt on reviving the tourism industry.
The attitude seems to be based on a hunch that keeping visitors away has been an effective prophylactic to help the municipality dodge the Covid-19 bullet.
In announcing limited reopening of restaurants this week, Anaya underscored that indoor service should be offered exclusively to local residents, a stipulation ostensibly intended to avoid putting out the welcome mat for outsiders who might carry the dreaded virus. How restaurateurs will actually police their customers remains to be seen.
By the same token, the mayor insists that the operation of filtro sanitario roadblocks at main entry points will be continued indefinitely to weed out incoming travelers arriving for recreational purposes. Aware that some people from metro-area Guadalajara have weaseled their way in by timing their arrivals in off-hours, Anaya is contemplating whatever scheduling adjustments can be managed to fit in with limited manpower and fixed work shifts.
Another tactic aimed tokeep both tourists and Covid-19 at bay will be delaying the reopening of public parks, the malecón, beach areas and full hotel services. Final decisions on the timing of such reopenings will be determined by how the pandemic pans out over the next couple of weeks and resulting strategies laid out by the state government.