ROSARITO BEACH, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO---Baja is safe for visitors and he hopes its tourism sector quickly rebounds, a leading U.S. diplomat told El Mexicano newspaper in a front-page story published Monday.

Ronald Kramer said that publicity about Mexico’s war against drug cartels had falsely created the impression in the U.S. that the area is unsafe for visitors.

Kramer is head of the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, which serves all of Baja.

While the bi-national effort against drug cartels is a serious one, visitors are not targeted, Kramer said. He also praised the Mexican army and authorities for their successes in the effort.

Kramer expects efforts by Mexican leaders, including Rosarito Beach Hugo Torres, to be successful in rebuilding Mexico’s image, but said the country’s economy and many of its people currently are suffering because of significant loss of tourism dollars.

Kramer also said concerns in past weeks about the H1N1 virus (also known as the swine flu) had hurt the area’s economy.

He cited as an example some cruise lines canceling voyages to Ensenada and diverting them to San Diego, which actually had more confirmed cases of the flu.

 

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