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Chilpancingo –  The Mexican Pacific resort city of Acapulco, which has been affected by a wave of drug-related violence, will likely be avoided this year by spring breakers from the United States and Canada, a Guerrero state tourism official said.

The thousands of students from the north who usually travel to Acapulco for spring break will not come to Guerrero's beaches this year, Tourism Development Secretary Ernesto Rodriguez Escalona said.

"The spring breakers segment fell for many reasons," including crime, Rodriguez Escalona said during a press conference held on Wednesday to announce an international diving competition in Acapulco.

Spring breakers have stopped visiting other beach cities in Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta, a resort in Jalisco state that has seen their numbers drop from 20,000 to just 800, Rodriguez Escalona said.

"We lost the spring break season completely in Acapulco, but also in (Puerto) Vallarta and Cancun," a Caribbean resort city, over the perception that Mexico is dangerous, Rodriguez Escalona said.

Other tourist destinations have also cut their prices and drawn visitors away from Mexico, the tourism secretary said.

Acapulco will now get two flights from Atlanta, but the new situation is of concern, Rodriguez Escalona said.

The resort city is hosting the Mexican Open, which has drawn some of the world's top tennis players, amid tight security this week.

Acapulco is awaiting the arrival in the next few days of just 1,000 "spring breakers" from the United States, the hotel association said recently.

About 13,000 college students spent their spring breaks in the resort city last year, the hotel association said.

The Cartel Independiente de Acapulco, the Pacifico Sur cartel and the Gulf cartel have been fighting for control of the resort city.

Last month, 22 people were massacred in Acapulco by suspected members of the Cartel Independiente de Acapulco, officials said.

Of the 22 victims, 15 were beheaded, and all the bodies were dumped outside a shopping center along with so-called "narcomessages."

The war between the rival drug cartels left 370 people dead last year in Acapulco alone.

Guerrero, which suffers from a high level of poverty, has also been affected by other types of conflicts, and guerrilla groups have sprouted up there.