It is getting better, but it has a long, long way to go. Homicides down 30% in 2019, but still way to high at 75 per 100k. There has been some consistent spending by the government to clean up the tourist areas and renovate, especially in the traditional area, but the whole city is still plagued by water outages, so they really need to be focusing on the basics. So there is a lot of 2 steps forward, 1 step back.
The private investment, and what will be the best driver of NOTB revenue, has been the push for resorts, and more all inclusive options. Dreams just opened on the bay, and Grupo Autofin has been investing a lot in the Diamante area. They are the owners of the Princess, Mayan, Fairmont, and the entertainment group Xtasea. I am not personally a fan of AI, but it gives people to take advantage of the perfect weather of the area, without the security concerns. Hopefully if they get off the resort to do tours of the city, they will lose some of the fear and consider other options on the bay.