To combat the perception that violence has been widespread, tourism officials in Mexico have invested $30 million in advertising and social media initiatives to spread the word that much of the country is safe for tourists. “Visitors have the right to be well informed,” said Alfonso Sumano, the regional director for the Mexico Tourism Board for the Americas. Many of the affected areas, he said, “are very far from the destinations tourists visit.”

Lorena and I too completely ignored the warnings from the State Department and decided to visit Tijuana while vacationing in San Diego.  There were several surprises: like being able to walk to Mexico from the US and not having to go through immigration/customs in Mexico (it is pretty funny how you enter a one-way revolving door and you are in Mexico with no one caring) but overall Tijuana was a big disappointment.  Due to security concerns we could not even find a decent place to eat lunch and the fear of crime forced us to rush back to San Diego after just a few hours.

Definitely not recommending that one go to Tijuana though I am always dreaming of Cancun.

(Source: The New York Times)