Rethinking Baja tourism
By VinceVasquez ,
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
This past Saturday, downtown San Diegoplayed host to an unusual international culinary convention, as Mexican electedofficials joined restaurateurs and business owners to present the finestflavors and tastes from Baja. More out-of-the-box thinking will be required ifour southern neighbor is to emerge in a new era of border relations.
Entitled "Baja by the Sea," thefree event at the Embarcadero Marina Park North brought out thousands of SanDiegans interested in wine tastings, dishes and business ventures hailing fromthe coastal region. For many, it was an opportunity to be reintroduced to theculturally rich nation at our doorstep, and savor the traditional tastes ofMexican cuisine that are too often found homogenized and diluted for theWestern palate in the United States. Though Mexican cities have been avidpromoters of their local events and festivals, this new approach of bringingthe best of Baja to San Diego was a successful outreach effort to prospectivetourists and customers that haven't crossed the border in some time. Praise isdeserving of Baja California Gov. José Guadalupe Osuna Millán and Tijuana MayorJorge Ramos, who were on hand with the mayors of Mexicali, Rosarito, Ensenadaand Tecate to showcase and support their region, and to the Port of San Diegoand Baja tourism boards who sponsored the occasion.
Baja by the Sea was a bright spot for aregion that has been unfairly swamped by negative news headlines, evoking fearand hysteria from the international community. The recent dramatic drug-relatedviolence has been largely a response to the successful efforts of Mexican lawenforcement officials to crack down on the illegal drug trade and capture keycartel leaders over the last decade, spurring volatility and brutal power grabsamong the criminal hierarchy. Frenzied media reports over the "swineflu" and its supposed Mexican origins were proven to be overblown thisyear, as the 117 confirmed global deaths to date failed to produce thespeculated worldwide pandemic, and pale in comparison to the fact that theregular seasonal flu kills up to half a million people each year. But thesubsiding of the health hysteria did not come before Chinese governmentofficials indiscriminately detained and quarantined Mexican nationals thisspring, and one San Diego congressman calling for the White House to shut downthe U.S.-Mexico border to protect Americans from the "serious threat"of swine flu. Few have come forward to reproach these damaging publicoverreactions that have had a powerful psychological effect on whether touristsvisit Mexico, which in the Baja region has seen a decline of American visitorsfor years.
According to statistics from the TijuanaConvention & Visitor's Bureau, the total number of estimated Americanscrossing the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry (including U.S. citizensliving in Baja and working in San Diego) in 2008 was 42 percent below 2004figures. More recently, the total American border crossings in the first threemonths of 2009 are fewer than at the same time last year. This bleak trend maybe compounded by new U.S. border crossing requirements beginning this week forpassports and new identification cards to be used by visitors to Mexico andCanada in order to re-enter the country. Whether these new security demandswill negatively impact tourism remains to be seen, but they should give urgencyto Mexican officials to adopt innovative strategies to marketing tourism andforeign investment opportunities to their U.S. neighbors.
With Baja by the Sea the first attempt ata new annual event, Baja promoters should weigh the merits of establishing apermanent showroom in San Diego for residents to experience and learn about regionalfare and visitor destinations. Consider the success of the San Diego Wine &Culinary Center, established in 2005 to present the "bounty of thecounty," highlighting the many boutique wineries and agricultural productsthat are grown regionally and too often, unknowingly. Nestled across the SanDiego Convention Center, the Culinary Center doubled in size in 2007, andcontinues to host fun and educational gastronomic events for tourists andlocals alike in a wine tasting room environment. A downtown Baja Wine &Culinary Center could showcase the dozens of vineyards that thrive in a rich,Mediterranean-like climate along a charming countryside that evokes memories ofNapa County before its mass commercialization. Most Baja wineries are small,family-owned operations that produce 5,000 or less cases per year, and couldbenefit from the exposure, especially to those who have been hesitant ofvisiting the Baja region. Michelle Martain, whose family owns the outstandingCavas Valmar Winery in Ensenada, favored the idea of a full-time tasting roomin San Diego. "We try to promote our products through events, but if therewas an opportunity for something like the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center,it would be wonderful; there is so much to proudly offer," said Martain.
Though the San Diego-Baja economy istrudging through tough economic times, our outlook is stronger from changingperceptions and adopting innovative approaches to bi-national tourism. Martainis optimistic about the future of the Baja region, as "there is a lot todiscover in Baja, sometimes the news dramatizes what is.