Security is beefed up amid violence

Officials aim to create 'safe zone' for tourists

By Sandra Dibble

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

January 20, 2008

TIJUANA – As reports of violence in Baja California take a heavy economic toll on key tourist destinations, officials say they are working to increase security along well-traveled roads and in shopping districts frequented by U.S. visitors.

The federal government has stepped up patrols on the toll road between Tijuana and Ensenada, while the state has posted officers at the entrances and exits, said Oscar Escobedo Carignan, Baja California's tourism secretary. The federal Angeles Verdes tourist assistance police also has an increased presence in the area.

Municipal governments are banding together to create a “safe zone” for tourists from the San Ysidro border crossing to south of the port of Ensenada, along a coastal strip where assaults have occurred. They are revamping their tourist police to focus on areas such as downtown Rosarito Beach and Tijuana's Avenida Revolución.

Though not the only factors, extortions by police officers and attacks on tourists last year helped drive down the number of visitors to the state by nearly 2 million, said Escobedo, from 20.3 million in 2006 to 18.6 million in 2007. Though violence in Tijuana this week has not targeted tourists, promoters worry that the reports could further discourage visitors to the state.