Baja California tour operator Turista Libre regularly offers a couple of enticing Tijuana excursions that allow visitors to experience a sampling of ethnic foods or, if they prefer, a close-up look at the U.S.-Mexico border itself, including prototypes for President Donald Trump's border wall.
The trouble is that there are few, if any, takers these days for the weekend tours that sell for about $60.
As news of growing tensions surrounding the migrant crisis in Tijuana builds and fears of potential border crossing shutdowns persist, tourism in Baja California is taking a big hit.
Getting a table at popular restaurants is not a problem, occupancies at hotels from Tijuana to Ensenada are falling and doctors' and dentists' offices that rely heavily on San Diego-area patients are reporting cancellations that have led to a fall in medical tourism business of as high as 70 percent.
"What we've been experiencing is on par with the rest of the businesses across the border, about a 50 to 60 percent decrease since the caravans began arriving and since it's been front and center," said Derrik Chinn, a former San Diego journalist who started Turista Libre about a decade ago to give visitors a way to experience Mexico like an insider. He said he has lost about $4,000 to $5,000 in business so far and has had to cancel five tours planned for two recent weekends.
"At first, it was alarming to me but it reminded me of why Turista Libre came to be, to allow people to change their minds about how sensationalized Tijuana had become. My concern is how long will it take for this ripple effect to subside. Aside from the border shutdown last Sunday, things in the city seem pretty normal ... if only people would sign up for tours."
Among visitors' greatest fears, say the owners of tourist-friendly businesses, are potential huge delays at border crossings or being trapped in Mexico should there be another hours-long shutdown at the border like the one that occurred last Sunday at the San Ysidro crossing.
A Twitter post by Trump, threatening more border shutdowns because of asylum-seeking migrants, has exacerbated fears.
Even before that, Chinn's company started receiving emails from clients reluctantly canceling reservations because of what they were hearing about tensions at the border.
While Baja California is returning to record levels of tourism, the latest short-term slump is a reminder that the region is not invulnerable to outside forces, most notably the violent criminal activity that has previously discouraged visitors from traveling to Mexico.
San Diego's cruise industry is an example. Although it is rebounding, it suffered enormously several years ago when reports of violent crimes near Mexican Riviera destinations discouraged cruise ships from scheduling itineraries in the area, and some ships left completely.
Baja California is coming off of two of its most successful years for tourism, said Ives Lelevier, undersecretary of tourism for the region. Last year the state had 27 million visitors, he said, up from 25 million the year before.
But news of the waves of Honduran immigrants has depressed hotel occupancies, with rates down an average of 16 percent for Baja California over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, from the comparable period a year earlier, according to the tourism ministry. The decline ranged from just 4 percent in Mexicali to 33 percent in San Felipe, the tourism ministry reported.
"What we've been doing for the last 10 days is providing visitors with information on our website on what's going on with the border crossings and the airports," Lelevier said. "We're trying to be very honest and objective so visitors can plan ahead.
"Sometimes people don't have the proper perspective, and it is difficult for them to know it's a very specific part of the city where the migrants are, and that the rest of the city is business as usual."
Antonio Gamboa, owner of a well-known food truck park in Tijuana, says you would never know there are thousands of migrants camped in the city if you were to visit his Telefonica gastro park, yet business there is down 30 percent.
Offerings of vegan carne asada tacos, seared tuna platters, ramen, poke and micro beers regularly entice American visitors, but fears of more border shutdowns or long waits crossing back into San Diego have discouraged visits, he said.
"We rely heavily on tourists over here at the gastro park because a lot of people tend to their medical needs in Tijuana, and we have a lot of locals from San Diego who know us, and they want the best Mexican food so they come over to us because it's in a very nice, safe spot in Tijuana," Gamboa said. "It's very disappointing because everything is normal in Tijuana, and it's a very isolated area where the migrants are."
