Two deadly shootings in Miami Beach during spring break risk idling city's tourism engine
MIAMI -- Search the words "Miami Beach" online and it is hardly all sunshine and good news in the wake of two deadly shootings over the span of 36 hours.
There are now safety concerns among some tourists and visitors following last week's violence as the spring break season is ramping up.
"Miami Beach is a beautiful, wonderful, magical place and what happened on those particular weekends is not characteristic of the whole year whatsoever," David Wallack, owner of Mango's Tropical Café on Ocean Drive said Monday. "It's realized to the second and third week of March at this point. Now we have to make a commitment to change that and we need a strategy to change that."
Wallack minced no words.
"All of Miami Beach is being held hostage," he said.
Weekend violence on the street outside his business last Friday night and early Sunday morning provided his customers and workers with a sampling of chaos.
They saw three stampedes of people run in to hide from trouble outside Friday.
Tourists Katy and Devon Naim sat in disbelief.
"Shortly after the first incident over there at Mango's it's like everybody went back to normal," Devon Naim said. "Some people were like well that's just what happens here."
"For about 10 years now, it's been the same thing over and over," Wayne Smith, a Mango's employee said about the violence that happens during spring break. "Over and over every year, the same weekend every year. (I'm) very fed up. How do you stop this?"
Tourism is the largest contributor to the Miami Beach economy, according to the City of Miami Beach Comprehensive Annual Financial Report on the most recent fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
Tourists deliver $915 million in hotel, food and beverage spending, according to the report. More than eight million people in the region took day-trips to Miami Beach last fiscal year too, the report said.
The spring break violence, though, invites perceptions begging for change.
"Why spend my money on South Beach?" Shawn Fossie, general manager at Exchange Miami nightclub said. "Why would I possibly do that when I know at midnight I have to be out of here?"
Wallack sounds prepared to lose money without significant change. He sees too much at stake.
"Everything's at stake for all of our businesses," he said. "We're a great place to come year round. The second or third week (of March) we'll figure it out and make that great again as well."
It happened seven more times Saturday and once Sunday, which forced Wallack to close for the night.
