Tourism down in El Norte?
This is from the Gringo Gazette:
Carjacking Scare Hurts Tourism
Cancellations, and more incidents
BY NANCY CONROY
Baja tourism has ground to a halt after the US press began reporting about the recent rash of carjackings along the roads near Tijuana. Although the
carjackings problem is nothing new, US newspapers and television stations had not previously been covering the story. Now that tourists are more aware
of the issue, people are afraid to come to Baja. After weeks of prodding, Baja tourism authorities finally issued public statements about the problem.
Since then, many people have cancelled their planned Baja trips, and more carjackings and violent incidents have been reported.
After the initial press reports about the carjackings, tourism authorities announced that new measures were being taken to control crime. They said
that more military patrols would occur on the highway, and that the 078 tourist assistance program would be expanded. Meanwhile, cancellations came
pouring in. At least two large weddings planned for spring have been cancelled, one of which would have brought 85 guests from Southern California to
Baja. A college reunion would have brought 45 people to Baja, but the organizers moved the event to Santa Barbara after the Mexicali police chief was
assassinated. The Discover Baja travel club told The Log newspaper that things have never been so slow, and fishing websites on the internet are full
of stories about violence, shakedowns, and cancelled trips.
Travelers on the toll road near Bajamar and Sempra than reported that a fake road construction crew was assaulting motorists. There were at least
three reports of such incidents, occurring between La Mision and Bajamar. There are no official police or military checkpoints in this area, so
motorists should use precautions when encountering any type of roadblock.
The road crew attacks occurred either during daylight or nighttime hours. The assailants dress in orange or green workman's vests, and signal
motorists to stop, as if they were a highway work crew. Vehicles that stopped were surrounded by carjackers, and a confederate would throw a rock
through the windshield. Rumors circulated in Bajamar that the band of carjackers was hiding out either near Sempra or inside Bajamar, but police
denied these reports. Officials say that the military has now increased patrols to prevent further incidents. Authorities remind people that
construction crews generally do not work at night, except for in highly visible, rare occasions.
--
Attempted Bus Hijacking. In Rosarito, near the new Comercial Mexicana, someone threw a rock at the windshield of a passenger bus, breaking the glass.
The bus was carrying mostly Mexican workers traveling from Rosarito to Ensenada. The driver, realizing that this was a hijacking attempt, sped away
instead of stopping. Passengers on the bus assisted the driver to clear away the broken glass to enable the driver to keep going. A black car with men
dressed in black followed the bus, until it pulled into the AM/PM and the police arrived. The black car sped off. Several passengers on the bus
mentioned that it was not the first time they had experienced an attempted bus hijacking. Incidents like these that do not involve Americans are never
reported in the US press. Some argue that the recent carjacking scare has been sensationalized, but many Mexicans are also victimized by such attacks,
suggesting that the problem is actually under-reported.
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