Winter Tourism Declines Sharply in Baja

TIJUANA, Mexico —  Mexican tourism officials are dumbfounded about the drop in the number of tourists in Baja California this winter.

“This is one of the worst (winter tourism) seasons suffered by Tijuana and Rosarito in many years,” said William Yu Cong, president of the Tijuana Convention and Tourism Bureau.

It’s the same story in the seaside city of Ensenada.

“Tourism has decreased a lot in Ensenada this winter,” said Alejandro Rodriguez, spokesman for the Ensenada Tourism Bureau.

Hotel occupancy rates in Ensenada are down 30% from last year. Business in Tijuana’s restaurants is down 35% and room occupancy rates are down 60%.

Business at gift and curio shops in Rosarito, just south of Tijuana, is down 30% and some restaurants are closing, officials say.

Some tourism officials blame the state government’s lack of tourism promotion for its woes. Other say it is the recent increase in toll fees along the scenic 65-mile Tijuana-Ensenada coastal road. Fees recently tripled to $2.25 for each of the three toll stations between the two cities.

Others blame the troubles on the 2 1/2-month-old strike at Caliente Racetrack, while others say long lines at the border crossings also discourage tourism.

“Visitors come to Rosarito for a few hours to eat and shop and have a good time,” said Hugo Torres Chabert, owner of the Rosarito Beach Hotel and an adviser to the town’s tourism bureau.

“Then, when they want to return home, what awaits them at the border? A two-hour wait. They become discouraged and will think twice before making the trip down here again,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tijuana tourism officials say their economy also is being affected by local residents crossing to San Diego. The tourism bureau says Tijuana residents spent $1.5 billion in San Diego stores last year.

Max Schetter, senior vice president of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce, said that although the chamber has no current statistics on Mexicans’ financial effect on San Diego, Tijuana’s figures were “probably in the ballpark.”

Both Torres and Schetter say a third border crossing is needed.

“Those long waits do deter trade and do deter a healthy transportation flow,” Schetter said. “It acts as a restraint to free flow of traffic between two good neighbors.”

Customs officials say that the wait at border crossings is usually about 45 minutes, but that the number of daily crossings continues to grow.

In the meantime, Mexican tourism officials will try to overcome the current crisis.

“We realize that the pie is not that big anymore, that the competition from San Diego and our own backyard is growing larger,” Yu said. “We need to create a better tourism infrastructure that will attract a steady influx of visitors on a year-round basis.”

But some tourism officials say the decrease in tourists is normal for the winter.

“It’s winter. It’s cold and people in California are worried about paying their taxes, about sending their children to school, about work,” said Fortino Cabrera, president of the Tijuana hoteliers association.

“For us, it’s time to retreat a bit and work on mending our fences, on remodeling and fixing our businesses, on taking inventory,” he said. “We’ll bounce back. We have been going through these ‘crises’ for decades and we always come out of it fine.”