Tijuana nightlife upswing -article-

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by Tchud Diego

The business owners had it with the violence and cartels and closed up shop. The Sinaloa Cartel and Tijuana Cartel went to war for years, and finally Villarreal, a Sinaloa boss was captured. After this, things cooled down and the media frenzy over the war died out. The Navy is still not allowed down there, but the locals are back, and business is good.

No, the business owners couldn't stay in business when literally ALL of thier business went away. Having spoken to a few of them during the slow times when they were getting worried and at the end when they were finally forced to close, I've found this to be the consensus. Dowtown Tijuana catered almost exclusively to American tourists. When all of a sudden the streets were empty because people were afraid to go down there, there was no one to cater to.

I've been here all my life, and been going to TJ all my life. My parents used to take us down once a month in the 70s to do our grocery shopping. I personally have witnessed the difference of the last few years when it went from teeming with tourists to empty streets and me being basically the only gringa in sight.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by Jenkay

No, the business owners couldn't stay in business when literally ALL of thier business went away. Having spoken to a few of them during the slow times when they were getting worried and at the end when they were finally forced to close, I've found this to be the consensus. Dowtown Tijuana catered almost exclusively to American tourists. When all of a sudden the streets were empty because people were afraid to go down there, there was no one to cater to.

I've been here all my life, and been going to TJ all my life. My parents used to take us down once a month in the 70s to do our grocery shopping. I personally have witnessed the difference of the last few years when it went from teeming with tourists to empty streets and me being basically the only gringa in sight.

Yeah, it's sad to see what has happened and hopefully things turn around soon. Mexico is great and the government will eventually get things in check and the tourists will be back. I used to go down to Tijuana all the time with friends. I remember parking across the border and just walking over but then I used to just rent a car and drive over and spend the weekend over there. GREAT food, great culture and I used to really enjoy it.

Now the biggest hassle would be the border time crossing. I have some friends that go down every weekend and they rave about all the new restaurants that have come on line now.

Pedro, funny you mention about Colombia. I was going down there back in the early 2000's when the US State Department was warning people not to go down there. LOL. MUCH has improved since then. You know it was a really cool feeling going out at night to a club or bar and not seeing even 1 American around for an entire week. Much has changed since then and I'm sure you see them all over now. But I still remember those early 2000's. Colombians are the kindest, warmest, friendliest, most genuine people on the planet that I've encountered on all my travels around the world.

[Pedro2000]

Colombia is great.. One of the nicest places I've ever visited. THe funny thing about travel is that I rarely see tons of Americans. I might bump into a lot of europeans, australians, etc and Americans now and again. For whatever reason, Americans don't seem to travel to non touristy places. I've made a lot of friends, just very rare I bump into other Americans. Once in a while.

As far as mexico, it's not actually about what is happening, it's about image. A stigma. Like I said, people still give Colombia a bad name and it's years after most of the drug wars. Mexico has taken their place. And while TJ might be improved, there are still other parts of mexico, tourist destinations, that are bad. Acapulco used to be a big tourist destination. Now it's known as one of the worst places to visit. So while it's not TJ, when some random family is thinking of going on vacation, they don't see it as TJ or Acapulco or Reynosa and so on, they see it as Mexico. So if they think Mexico is bad, they avoid all of it. And TJ used to get a lot of southern California visitors. These days with the border delays and issues, gas prices, and Mexico's image, people just stay away. Maybe some curious rebellious kids take a visit, but people with kids in their 30's probably avoid it. it's just the way it is. Image sometimes is everything. And right now, Mexico in general doesn't have a very good image for tourists.

[earlyretirement]

I travel extensively around the world and some countries I don't see as many Americans. But many places I run into Americans all the time. Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay and cities in Mexico I see tons and tons of Americans. I lived in Europe for 3 months last summer and ran into many Americans as well. But I agree with you that many Americans aren't too well traveled compared to Europeans.

Yes, Mexico has a poor image but don't forget the fact that it is experiencing record tourism #'s even with all this violence. People LOVE Mexico. And to it's credit, Mexico realizes that tourism is so vital and important so they are really doing all they can to protect tourists. Their tourism numbers have grown each of the past 5 years in a row even with all of these things happening.

Mexico sets tourism record despite drug violence - latimes.com

Look at the numbers and actually the % of Americans not going to Mexico has only gone down a little bit. Mexico is a fabulous country.

[Tchud Diego]

I've been to places that Americans wouldn't normally visit like Indonesia. Many Europeans and Aussies visit, but natural disasters and wars prevent many Americans except those in the military to check it out. Pity, because some places down there are beautiful. Many people tell me that Mexico City is like Manila without the tacos!

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

I travel extensively around the world and some countries I don't see as many Americans. But many places I run into Americans all the time. Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay and cities in Mexico I see tons and tons of Americans. I lived in Europe for 3 months last summer and ran into many Americans as well. But I agree with you that many Americans aren't too well traveled compared to Europeans.

Yes, Mexico has a poor image but don't forget the fact that it is experiencing record tourism #'s even with all this violence. People LOVE Mexico. And to it's credit, Mexico realizes that tourism is so vital and important so they are really doing all they can to protect tourists. Their tourism numbers have grown each of the past 5 years in a row even with all of these things happening.

Mexico sets tourism record despite drug violence - latimes.com

Look at the numbers and actually the % of Americans not going to Mexico has only gone down a little bit. Mexico is a fabulous country.

Mexico *is* a fabulous country. I would never argue otherwise!

That article talks about Mexico as a whole. I guarantee you that tourism in Tijuana specifically, while it may have increased in the last year or so, is NOTHING like it was years ago. It has literally gone from streets thronged with touristas (to the point where it's hard to get through the crowds) on a regular basis to empty storefronts and barely any Americans to be seen.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by Jenkay

Mexico *is* a fabulous country. I would never argue otherwise!

That article talks about Mexico as a whole. I guarantee you that tourism in Tijuana specifically, while it may have increased in the last year or so, is NOTHING like it was years ago. It has literally gone from streets thronged with touristas (to the point where it's hard to get through the crowds) on a regular basis to empty storefronts and barely any Americans to be seen.

Oh yeah..no doubt Jenkay. I was speaking tourism as a whole in Mexico. Many of the American tourists go down to the beach resort cities. Yeah, my friends that head over to TJ a lot tell me it's dead compared to the "glory days".

I hope that it goes back to some of it's former glory. Just reading this thread is giving me the itch to head back down there. I haven't been down there in a while. I have an appointment to get the Sentri pass next month so that will probably make it a lot easier.

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

Oh yeah..no doubt Jenkay. I was speaking tourism as a whole in Mexico. Many of the American tourists go down to the beach resort cities. Yeah, my friends that head over to TJ a lot tell me it's dead compared to the "glory days".

I hope that it goes back to some of it's former glory. Just reading this thread is giving me the itch to head back down there. I haven't been down there in a while. I have an appointment to get the Sentri pass next month so that will probably make it a lot easier.

Hah. The "glory days".

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by Jenkay

No, the business owners couldn't stay in business when literally ALL of thier business went away. Having spoken to a few of them during the slow times when they were getting worried and at the end when they were finally forced to close, I've found this to be the consensus. Dowtown Tijuana catered almost exclusively to American tourists. When all of a sudden the streets were empty because people were afraid to go down there, there was no one to cater to.

I've been here all my life, and been going to TJ all my life. My parents used to take us down once a month in the 70s to do our grocery shopping. I personally have witnessed the difference of the last few years when it went from teeming with tourists to empty streets and me being basically the only gringa in sight.

Yeah, same here. I have noticed that the local food movement has started to get a few of us gringos back but they're mostly part of some guided tour with a bus. Few of them seem to drive down there like I do where as back in the day every 16-20 year in San Diego was down there on a Friday night.