Hotels and Restaurants Distinguished in Crime Prevention Training

"LandepNews"

Mexico City: Hotels and Restaurants Distinguished in Crime Prevention Training

Making Mexico City a safer place has been on the agenda of the Tourism Secretary of Mexico DF for many years. This last Thursday, and as part of this initiative, 48 business belonging to the tourism sector received recognitions after completing a training program to guarantee the best level of security for national and foreign visitors doing tourism in Mexico and providing an integral attention.

The specific distinctions awarded are known as the Recognitions and Distinctions for Hotels and Restaurants Adhered to the Crime Prevention Network; in Spanish: Reconocimientos y Distintivos a Hoteles y Restaurantes Adheridos a la Red de Prevención del Delito. Of the 48 businesses which received this recognition, 40 were hotels in Mexico DF, while the other 8 were restaurants in the Mexican capital.

The training consisted in two courses about crime prevention as related to people’s trade, and one more on developing skills on seeking for justice and post-crime crisis management. The awards were given by the Tourism Secretary of Mexico DF: Alejandro Rojas Díaz Durán and the General Attorney in the same city, Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinoza.

When it was his turn to speak, Secretary Rojas Díaz Durán said this program has consolidated what the government of Mexico City has built in the last five years: the perception of the capital of Mexico as a safe, trustworthy and calm destination, which has generated a prevention culture in an amplified manner which, he said, has been replicated in all areas in the tourism sector.

In hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and the airport, he said, you can see this added value, the one of safety, as the first characteristic you identify on this main destination for tourism in Mexico: Mexico DF. This, he continued, can be noticed in the fact that there are only 0,5 crimes taking place daily in the city – resulting into one of the urban centers in the world with the lowest crime rate.

“This is a major figure, which represents the effort that the Chief of Government of the Federal District, Marcelo Ebrard, makes since the start of his administration in this sector, and which is possible due to the close cooperation of the different government bodies in the city, in this case, most particularly, the General Attorney of Justice in the Federal District, in charge of doctor Miguel Ángel Mancera”.

After thanking the capital’s General Attorney for his cooperation, Rojas Díaz Durán explained that the results of the program for crime prevention are one more step allowing Mexico City to show it is possible, with the private sector, to accomplish this kind of positive actions. And demonstrate, together with the federal government “with which we are working also, since these are models we have to replicate in the country,” he added.

The Tourism Secretary concluded by saying that figures in Mexico City show not only a reduction of all indexes affecting safety, but also some victories. “But the greatest battle will come –he noticed- when this entire prevention model can be applied in all the national territory”.

On the other side, General Attorney Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinoza said that if today Mexico City has become a referent in many different aspects, it is because several successful programs have been applied, like the one called “Let’s protect our airport”, which surpassed the obstacles of the airport being a federal zone and the maintenance of it depends from more than just the federal authorities.

“The lowering of all crime rates has been greatly noticed, not only in the airport but also in the surrounding areas”, he précised, and immediately he referred to the case of one tourist from Spain who, after getting robed, activated a theft report through this system. The result was that he did not just recover his belongings, but also the criminals were detained.

The distinguished restaurants and hotels in Mexico DF allowed the installation of virtual Public Ministries. These are computer terminals with internet access, placed strategically in different parts of their facilities, so that the customers can use them to denounce any kind of traceable crimes. The tourism staff taking the courses also received information and supportive materials to understand all topics they dealt with during the training courses.

By these means, the Tourism Secretary of Mexico DF, the General Attorney of Justice in the capital, the Hotels Association in Mexico City and the Restaurant s and Spiced Food Industry Chamber did a joint training of a total of 75 tourism servants, 62 of which work in hotels; the 13 remaining are part of the participating restaurants.

They all received as well specific guidelines and orientation from the expert staff of the General Attorney Office in Mexico city on using security and video-recording equipment, as well as suggestions for improving safety and security, and including crime prevention elements in their facilities.

Among the distinguished “safe” hotels, the following are included (among others): Holiday Inn Zócalo, Álamos, Aranjuez, Brasilia, Camino Real aeropuerto, Covadonga, Crown Plaza WTC, Fiesta Americana Grand Chapultepec, Harare, Hispano, Holliday Inn México- Coyoacán, Holyday Inn Plaza Universidad, Hollywood, JW Marriott, La Fuente, La Rosa, Liverpool, Marin, Marriott Reforma, and some more.

Of the restaurants in Mexico City which received the distinction, some were Fishmart Oyster Bar, Kaowloon, El Huequito, Mesón Antigua Santa Catarina, Universidad Claustro de Sor Juana, La Tratoria de Micheangelo, Quetzalcoátl and Líderes en la Organización de Eventos.

If you are thinking of taking a trip to Mexico City in the times to come, choosing some of these “safe” hotels and restaurants sounds like a wise choice.

Thank's for link: