Prepared by Scott Hanning and Jeffrey Werner, Emerson Strategic Communication Group
Baja California, Mexico: Impact of U.S. Media, an Analysis
Executive Summary: Through selective reporting, presenting information without context and insufficient analysis, U.S. media outlets have helped perpetuate the mistaken perception that Mexico, including all of Baja California, is a “drug war crisis zone” unsafe for visitors. The net result is the conflation of President Felipe Calderón’s campaign against the drug cartels with tourism in the minds of millions of ordinary Americans, who have chosen to travel elsewhere or stay home. Media coverage of the drug war crisis has thus spawned a second, equally urgent one: Rosarito Beach’s economy, like those of other areas almost entirely dependent on American tourism, has suffered a devastating revenue decline of more than 75%.
Rosarito Beach and Baja California’s other coastal towns have for decades been a popular destination for U.S. tourists. Their economies are largely dependent on American tourism, especially road-trip vacationers from southern California and the Southwest U.S. The region also has a high number of permanent American residents: an estimated 14,000 Americans (nearly 10% of the population) make Rosarito their home today. These communities’ fortunes are therefore directly linked to how Americans view them. read more »
