Tourism is down in Mexico and many businesses there claim is due to crimes being committed against tourists. I tend to think it may have a little more to do with the fact that most Americans in cities - and even rural areas - can experience the "joys" of Mexico by heading down the street to their local run down illegal alien havens that have taken root all across this country over the past decade and a half.

Why spend money to head south of the border and put your life at risk when you can get the same threats, dirty looks and feeling of being in a third world hellhole by just driving down the street?

I also firmly believe that Americans are increasingly getting sick of the arrogant Mexican government and their meddling, not only in our national politics, but in local politics via their consulates here. The continued rash statements that America is the root of all of their problems and that it is we Americans who are to blame for every single act of criminality in their country. From the "demand" for drugs that "fuels" their drug industry, to their cries of racism at every turn when we want our laws enforced here, to their continued inclusion as fact in their schools that the southern part of the United States was stolen by us and that it is still a part of Mexico.

The US State Department has long warned American tourists about Mexico, its crime and the shakedowns by corrupt police there.

I personally think that the reason tourism is down is that Americans will only put up with so much bullshit before they reject having anything to do with people who continue to hate them.

AP

Americans have long tolerated shakedowns by police who boost salaries by pulling over motorists for alleged traffic violations, and tourists know parts of Baja are a hotbed of drug-related violence. ...

Lori Hoffman, a San Diego-area emergency room nurse, said she was sexually assaulted Oct. 23 by two masked men in front of her boyfriend, San Diego Surfing Academy owner Pat Weber, who was forced to kneel at gunpoint for 45 minutes. They were at a campground with about 30 tents, some 200 miles south of the border.

The men shot out windows of the couple's trailer and forced their way inside, ransacked the cupboards and left with about $7,000 worth of gear, including computers, video equipment and a guitar.

Weber, who has taught dozens of students in Mexico over the last 10 years, plans to surf in Costa Rica or New Zealand. "No more Mexico," said Hoffman, who reported the attack to Mexican police. No arrests have been made.

...

News of harrowing assaults on American tourists has begun to overshadow th[e] appeal... In late November, as they returned from the Baja 1000 off-road race, a San Diego-area family was pulled over on the toll road by a car with flashing lights. Heavily armed men held the family hostage for two hours. They eventually released them but stole the family's truck.

...

"People are just saying, 'No way.' They don't want to deal with the risk," said [Aqua Adventures] owner Jen Kleck, who has sponsored trips to Baja about five times a year but hasn't been since July.

...

Tourist visits to Baja totaled about 18 million in 2007, down from 21 million the previous year, Escobedo said. Hotel occupancy dropped about 5 percentage points to 53 percent.

... One Saturday afternoon in October, masked bandits wielding pistols walked the streets and kidnapped two men — an American and a Spanish citizen — who were later released unharmed. Two people who were with them were shot and wounded.

Other Commentary:

Immigration Watchdog
Freedom Folks