Gypsy Jan
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Tourism in Baja California heading on the right direction
TIJUANA.- Baja California's tourism is growing stronger, as the number of visitors during the last few months show.
"According to data by the Secretary of Tourism, this year's Holy Week has been the busiest of the last five years, specially at the beaches, it also
holds the record for best Memorial Day weekend and for the number of cruise ships arriving to Ensenada as well as having a bigger attendance at biking
events.
This indicators, added to the increase in the hotel occupancy of the 5 cities in Baja California, point to having one of the busiest summers south of
the border.
Why the change?
The first thing needed was better security and, for that, all police agencies have been working to reinforcing street vigilance besides tackling the
problem at its roots by weeding out the bad elements. All of this thanks to the political will of State authorities.
"Security is not the same issue anymore", stated the president of the Tijuana Tourism and Conventions Committee (COTUCO in Spanish), Mariano Escobedo.
"Here in Tijuana we had a critical period between 2007 and 2008, but it has been overcome".
Once a secure environment for both national and foreign tourism was achieved, state and municipal authorities worked hard to promote the area's strong
points, from its gastronomy and culture to soccer since last year.
After conducting surveys about the perception the United States citizens had about the city, it was concluded that there was a high level of both
"misinformation and lack of information" regarding Baja California's image and its tourist attractions.
For that reason a promotional tour traveled through different states of the US like California, Nevada and Arizona, where statistics, testimonies and
information were presented with the goal of drawing in more visitors.
At the same time a video titled "What is Baja?" was created gathering statements by people of the United States that have lived or visited Baja
California and who, through the video, invite their own people to join them.
The final push has been received by word of mouth and it's even better when celebrities are doing the talking. People like the Chefs Anthony Bourdain
and Rick Bayless as well as actor Robert Redford are among the ones voicing their opinion and sharing their positive experiences during their visits
to Baja California.
Bourdain as well as Bayless have been so amazed by the culinary talent of the area that they have shot entire episodes of their respective shows in
Baja California where they showcase gastronomic venues from Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada.
For Escobedo, the boom of Baja Med cuisine has made local gastronomy an important tourist attraction.
"The fact that Tijuana is being mentioned internationally helps a great deal to our region" he stated.
In the same vein, he thinks this is just the beginning since every day they are more culinary schools in the state and their graduates are always
looking for new ways of making the most of the region's products.
"A lot of Chefs eager to be the best are graduating".
TIJUANA.- Baja California's tourism is growing stronger, as the number of visitors during the last few months show.
On his part, the Secretary of Tourism, Juan Tintos Funcke, mentioned that said gastronomic boom is not entirely new since Baja California's cuisine
goes way back, encompassing the creation of the Puerto Nuevo Style lobster, the Caesar Salad and the Ensenada born Margarita.
"We are in fashion nationally" he remarked "more people want to come and taste our food, drink our wines and beers".
Besides its food, Baja California has reinforced its events schedule, offering over 300 activities a year.
Concerts, Fiestas de la Vendimia (the Harvest Festival), and sports activities increase the interest shown by people from the United States as well as
Mexican tourists. Again, this reflects on hotel occupancy that goes up to around 80%-90% in tourist zones like Ensenada; the port city had the busiest
June in the last few years.
"We haven't recovered yet, what we are seeing is the reactivation of the tourist industry; we still need to go door to door because this needs to be a
permanent effort" emphasized Tintos Funcke.
The fact that for the first time Tijuana had a soccer team competing in the top division meant important revenue for the region according to data by
the COTUCO.
In line with a research paper presented last June, the Xoloitzcuintles team generated $1,039'429,761 Mexican pesos.
Regarding the tourist industry, the impact is seen as a "before, during and after" the soccer games, added COTUCO's representative.
Escobedo said that a lot of people even traveled from California to attend the matches and applauded the fact that, for this tournament, five thousand
seats were added to the Caliente Stadium; now the stadium has a capacity of 20,000.
"Tijuana has a wide touristic offer" Escobedo remarked. "The tourists come and choose how to have fun; we have casinos, restaurants, taco stands, a
lot of seafood, soccer and much more".
alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com
Translation by Karen Balderas (karen.balderas@sandiegored.com)
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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MrBillM
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Positive Culinary Contributions
When assessing the upturn in Baja attractiveness for those tourists interested in culinary adventures, the continued expansion of fine dining
opportunities represented by McDonalds, Burger King and other like establishments cannot be overstated.
While nothing improves the local dining scene like a Carl's Jr. or a Popeyes, the others are certainly worthy of note and make Mexico a decent
mealtime destination.
If Chili's were to make a big move South, who knows how dramatic an upswing might be possible.
Baby-Backs could turn Baja into an international Mecca.
Well, Mecca "might" be an inappropriate symbol given the eating habits there. No "Pigging-Out", so to speak.
But, the principle holds.
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Skipjack Joe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MrBillM
When assessing the upturn in Baja attractiveness for those tourists interested in culinary adventures, the continued expansion of fine dining
opportunities represented by McDonalds, Burger King and other like establishments cannot be overstated.
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Makes perfect sense. The people who serve you at McDonalds, etc. north of the border no longer speak English anyway.
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Ken Cooke
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Makes perfect sense. The people who serve you at McDonalds, etc. north of the border no longer speak English anyway. |
Learn to Speak Spanish.
Adapt.
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MrBillM
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Adapting
Makes PERFECT sense.
When in a Spanish-Speaking country, we should EXPECT to communicate in Spanish. IF there isn't a need, that's just "icing on the cake" so to speak.
At the same time, we should EXPECT that those we communicate with (ESPECIALLY vendors) in the U.S. should be able to do so in
ENGLISH.
Their responsibility should be no less (and even greater) than ours since WE are the CUSTOMER.
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Tbone
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Tourism in Baja California heading on the right direction.
You would not know it in BOLA, it's a gost town.
[Edited on 8-2-2012 by Tbone]
Mas Pacifico
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