Reeling Mexico hopes travel deals bring back the tourists
October 31st, 2009 . by TexasFredReeling Mexico hopes travel deals bring back the tourists
During a visit to San Diego in April, Pratik and Priti Chavda thought they’d slip over the border into Tijuana just to do a little shopping, have a quick meal and say they had made it to Mexico. But upon hearing the plan, staffers at their hotel sounded the alarm.
“Swine flu! Drug cartels! Don’t go!” Pratik Chavda, 32, recalls them warning.
Six months later, the Chicago couple have finally made it south of the border, where they’re enjoying a meal of grilled shrimp with a panoramic view of a golden sunset. And they didn’t even have to wait for a table.
What started out as a gangbuster year, with international tourist arrivals up about 6% in the first quarter, came to a screeching halt in late April when Mexico became the first to report an outbreak of the H1N1 virus. The flu scare, coupled with news accounts of gruesome drug-related violence, caused visitors to stay away in droves. From April to June, tourist arrivals plummeted by more than 19% over the previous year.
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Reeling Mexico hopes travel deals bring back the tourists
I lived in El Paso many years ago. I did a lot of business on BOTH sides of the border. It was common to cross the border, go to Juarez and have dinner, drinks, do some shopping and so forth. But I’m talking about 25 or 30 years ago. I wouldn’t go to Juarez today for anyone.
I was in Nogales, AZ. about 22 years ago, a business trip, and a friend of mine wanted to go across the border to eat lunch. He claimed that there was a place he knew that had the best Chinese food you’ve ever eaten. He was RIGHT! It was delicious, and cheap too. We have several courses and drinks and spent about $6.00 each.
We were walking back to the border when the gunfire started. The Federales and some drug dealers were engaged in a running machine gun battle and it was coming our way. We broke into a dead run and were less than 50 yards from the border, screaming at the top of our lungs, “U.S. Citizens!” because INS and Border Patrol were in place, waiting for this gun battle to head their way and were in the process of shutting down that particular crossing.
Needless to say, we made it over the border, took cover behind some *Jersey Barriers* that were set up, and we waited. The Federales either caught the guys or killed them, the gun battle never made it that last city block to the border. And that was the last time I ever went to Mexico as a tourist.
It was also about the time I began to develop a serious attitude concerning border security and the HUGE influx of ILLEGALS we were seeing at the time. It was nothing compared to the surge of ILLEGALS today, but even 22 years ago, it was a concern for me. And sadly, nothing has been done, by ANY U.S. president to remedy this situation.
And then there’s this;
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Gunmen killed fifteen people on an isolated ranch in northern Mexico, including a prominent farmworker leader, in the latest grisly attack in an area overrun by drug gangs, local police said on Friday.
Margarito Montes, a well-known organizer of agricultural laborers, was among the bodies found riddled with bullets in trucks in the town of Hornos in southern Sonora, a state bordering the United States, a police spokesman said.
The cause of the crime was unknown but the killings had many of the hallmarks of hits by drug cartels, who often use automatic weapons to murder people in groups to send a message to rivals.
More than 15,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched an army-led assault on cartels soon after taking office in 2006.
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Mexican farm leader killed with 14 others on ranch
Now I don’t know about YOU, but nothing says *Tourist Heaven* like the 15,000 or so people that have been murdered in Mexico in the last 3 years.
Mexico is suffering a drug cartel induced BLOOD BATH, yet our borders with Mexico are STILL all but WIDE OPEN. Can someone please tell me just exactly what it’s going to take to get the clowns in Washington, D.C. off of their collective asses and get this border situation, and the ILLEGAL INVASION under control
WHAT is it going to take to get these apathetic bleeding hearts to deport the ILLEGALS that are bleeding this nation dry?
Sure, we all know that things are bad in Mexico. That’s their problem. Things are bad here too. Our borders need to be closed. ILLEGALS, from ALL nations, need to be deported. We need to bring our National Guard troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and station them along our own border. Let the regular Army take care of international matters and let The Guard take care of Homeland Security.
That’s how it would work if I was the POTUS. 
In 2003 I took a Holland America cruise line trip to the “Mexican Riviera.” It was okay, but nothing spectacular. I enjoyed being on the ship best. I’ll never go back to Mexico. I’ve seen all I care to and spent all the money there I care to. My wife is Mexican and I’ve told her: don’t even ask. We’re not wasting a penny of our cash or time. You can have the whole country; it’s nothing but a pit.
BZ
During Dubya’s time as POTUS, I lost all respect over a case where a Mexican National led a gang in the act of gang raping, torturing and murdering 2 girls aged 11 and 13 who were taking a short cut home. The Mexican government was so outraged because Texas gave this Mexican national a death sentence, they took it to The Hague. The Hague decided that the rights of this murdering scum were violated because the Mexican Consulate was not brought in when he was charged!!!! Bush got on TV and instead of telling Mexico and international court to go to Hell, he announced that all death penalty cases would be reviewed and changed to life sentences where Mexican nationals were involved… I guess there are over 100 of them on death row. More of our sovereignty handed over to people in the world who don’t like us!!!
If I were POTUS at that time, I would have proclaimed loudly to the WORLD, this is the USA, we have laws that pertain to people who come here and commit crimes against our citizens. If those visiting here do not want to obey our laws, tell them when they are caught, they will answer to our laws!!! PERIOD!!!
And people wonder WHY I didn’t jump on the GWB, Ya miss me now? bandwagon…
An asshole RINO is almost as bad as the scum we have in office now, and GWB was an asshole RINO on border issues. It was OK to traipse off to Iraq and take on Saddam over perceived threats, but oh hell NO, we can’t address the Mexican problem, we might piss off Laura’s relatives and Jeb’s in-laws…
For many years I drove from Mississippi to Mexico and went deep into the interior, some 1000 miles. It is a lovely country once you get away from the filth of the border towns. I traveled down the old Pan-American highway to Mexico City then on a few hundred miles south of that. That was over 20 years ago. Even in those days I would often come across road blocks in the remote mountain areas and never knew if it was the federales or bandits, but knew to stop whatever the case or face a hail of bullets. I was fortunate it was always the federal police, but you never really knew. The drug traffic and the illegal immigration trade has ruined a great vacation spot. The border areas must be brought under control on both sides as the violence is spilling over to our side. I will never take another trip for the only safe way to go now is to fly in and stay in the tourist traps and to me thats not the Mexico I love. I always stayed in the remote areas and away from the traveled paths most Americans follow.
I don’t love Mexico, never have, never will, ALL potential tourists (with the exception of those from Europe) should stay the hell away. There is nothing to love OR miss.
BZ
México puede quemarse en infierno por siempre por lo que me refiero.
Just in case any of them are reading…
Yeah… Just in case…
That’s my question also. When are we going to get someone with some g’dmnd balls that will stand up and be for America, and to tell the rest of the world to kiss our ass.We need to align our selves with Israel and give them all of our technology and support them. We need to be supporting France right now in deporting that bunch of muslim asswipes
from their country and we should follow their lead. Don’t stop there either, start rounding this scum from mexico up and do likewise and then mine the border with troops to back it up. We should start a new party and notify this bunch of partisan scum that they are getting their asses tossed, and then SUPPORT our man and give till it hurts to make it happen. That is, if we want it bad enough, if not, then this country will be no more. It’s not far from it right now with the people putting up with the shit that washington is handing us. We love our country, they apparently don’t give a shit, just send us your money and SFU.
The news of Mexicans killing Mexicans reminds me of\ the
Darwin theory. Where members of one species attempts to
reduce each others sides numbers of members of child
bearing age, just by reducing population growth. An
excellent concept. But it does not seem to be working fast
enough as the border support groups are kept undermanned
in many city, county, state and federal organizations. As well
as being told not to enforce imgration/criminal laws of the
states and federal goverment. CAVOK
Lived with work duty in Mexico for many years. Loved the undercover work immensely, but spit,spit hated the country and it’s totally corrupt society and Government.
Runs everything based on “mordita”.
Today, I wouldn’t even send a fire truck over the border, even if everything in Mexico was on fire.
Let it all burn down to smoldering ashes, then napalm it all over again, just to make sure nothing, nothing still lives. Amen.
Does anyone not understand my stand??
I know many others who feel that way mrchuck. Living in the heartland, I haven’t much experience with Mexico itself, but given the illegal citizens actions in this country, I’d say it can’t be worth much. Maybe good for target practice????