When gangs overtake your once-glamorous seaside city and force the military to move in and the U.S. to issue a travel warning, you've got a public relations problem.
Acapulco is on it. The Pacific Coast city that was once the ultimate destination of the Love Boat has worked with federal, state, and local authorities, including the Mexico Tourist Board, to support CAPTA, which in English stands for the Center for Tourist Protection and Assistance. Open 24 hours a day, the special force is tasked with helping tourists deal with lost documents, illness, consular services, and instances of crime and graft.
The office is in Acapulco's Zona Dorada (Av. Costera Miguel Alemán 38-A), opposite the Guerrero Institute of Culture.
Mexico is not the only place to establish a tourist police force. Mindful of how important tourism is to their economies, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Greece have all established tourist police forces with the power to enforce the protection of the law and assist foreigners. CAPTA's is Mexico's first such office.
