According to the Secretary of Tourism:There Has Been a Decrease in Tourist Extortion
There has been a significant decrease in cases of corruption or extortion of tourists on the coast of Baja California. The Tijuana United States Consulate reports there have been none reported during the past month, according to CP Oscar Escobedo Carignan, State Tourism Secretary.
Presiding a meeting of the Asociación de Desarrolladores Turísticos de Baja California (developers assn.), Lic. Gabriel Robles Velarde, head of the tourism secretariat SECTURE explained that “this is what we are going to highlight about Rosarito and Tijuana, an intense promotional campaign toward our neighbor country, so as to counteract the extreme negative publicity in the U.S. media. Some reports include incidents that took place many months ago, simply for impact.”
The State Secretary of Tourism explained that the first step had been taken to improve our image in the eyes of tourists as they enter Mexico. It was ordered by the Federal Government and consists of an increase of Federal Preventive Police on the toll road as well as more Green Angels units along that corridor as well. In addition, many more Tijuana Municipal agents have been assigned to the corridor between the border crossing and the first toll booth at Playas de Tijuana.
Escobar Carignan also stated that in order to spark the media promotion, the State has already requested $350,000 dollars from the National Council for Tourist Promotion (Consejo Nacional para la Promoción Turística) that would be matched by the State and also by the Baja California private initiative.
He also mentioned that the State Public Relations and Social Communication offices (Relaciones Públicas y Comunicación Social) would release positive news items about Baja California. It is imperative that the bad image generated abroad be reversed.
He also stated that he was to meet with the State Attorney General on the 8th of January to review statistics at that agency to compare them with other crime statistics in this region “which is now pretty tightly secure along the border, and compare them with those of California.”
“It’s important to be aware of these statistics, which relate to the more than twenty-four million border crossings each year, an important number of tourists for Baja California,” he underscored.
Escobedo Carignan explained to the developers that Governor José Guadalupe Osuna Millán is chairing a meeting in Washington, D.C. on the 17th of January, along with representatives of Caltrans and SANDAG (San Diego Association of Governments). They are analyzing the proposal for the Otay II Border Crossing, which would engender economic activity to the region, both tourist and industrial.
“This represents another area of benefit to the entire State. Also, we have an agreement between the State Tourism Secretariat and the City of Tijuana for transforming the stretch of highway from the border to the first toll gate at Playas de Tijuana, so that tourism can enjoy greater security on their way to the coastline,” he added.
Oscar Escobedo Carignan pointed out that although the tourism sector “is the one that will determine which projects they need, and that SECTURE not impose projects that are only convenient for them. This implies coordination and cooperation between the three levels of government and private initiative.”
“This is the point at which public opinion and participation is necessary. We need people like you to help authorities put a stop to police extortion. Turn them in and expect your local governments to act promptly and firmly with their agents. This will produce positive results,” concluded the State Tourism Secretary.
The tourism developers explained the many challenges that they are facing due to insecurity, police extortion, and the fact there is not a long-term “comprehensive tourism strategy.”
They mentioned that in 2006 there were real estate sales projections of one billion dollars, but today “maybe, perhaps we have just reached $20 million dollars, which is mostly due to the extremely bad press we have been getting in the United States.”
The developers pointed out that it is responsibility of the various police agencies to diminish crime and not simply wait for the public to denounce or press charges after the fact. Those crimes are forgotten “because we, as civilians, aren’t equipped, nor are we responsible, for following-up on crime… it’s the work of the appropriate authorities.”
The members of ADETUR were in agreement that even though there is no comprehensive tourism development plan—which would offer recreation areas and rest areas for tourists, particularly for Rosarito—there is an important need for a Tourism Assessment Council (Consejo Consultivo de Turismo). Governor Osuna Millán has already embraced the idea. The council could suggest projects that would have an overall impact on the State, not just for one city or region.
Baja Times Feb. 4, 2008