Impact of U.S. Media on Baja Tourism, an Analysis
San Felipe, Baja - One of the Baja resorts to have suffered a 75% drop in tourism revenue this year.
If anyone still has concerns over traveling to Mexico in general, or Baja in particular, I would direct you to read a new report published this week called Baja California, Mexico: Impact of U.S. Media, an Analysis by Scott Hanning and Jeffrey Werner, Emerson Strategic Communication Group. Baja, which relies heavily on tourism dollars from U.S. visitors, has suffered a decline of 75% in their revenue this year - a subject we have visited many times. The analysis makes clear that fear of drug cartel violence, and later of the H1N1 flu virus, has kept huge numbers of visitors away. What is also made clear is that these fears were wholly unjustified and unnecessarily overblown by the U.S. media.
“One critical fact remains clear, however: there is no evidence or history of tourists being harmed by cartel-related violence. Further, the threat of so-called “spillover” violence into the border states that spawned a great deal of coverage in the pre-April period has failed to materialize. Nor has Mexico become the failed state so vigorously predicted earlier in the year. None of these facts are actively reported to the American public.”
If the reports of drug cartel violence are still a concern for you, please read this report. I would also venture to suggest that you might like to think about what other stories in the press might be exaggerated - and why. The fear of North Korean missiles reaching Hawaii is the latest one that springs to mind. There are factions within this country that have a vested interest in keeping people fearful - don’t buy into their lies. It is you who ends up being the loser if you do.
Tags: Drug War, San Felipe, Tourism