By: Andrew Johnson
The Arizona Republic
02/01/2010 05:22 PM
The new head of tourism for Sonora has his job cut out for him as he works to squelch concerns of border violence that has made some Arizonans fearful of vacationing in the Mexican state.
In an interview with The Arizona Republic and Channel 12 (KPNX) on Monday, Javier Tapia said Sonora leaders and federal officials in Mexico City are working to bring more resources to the region, including police, to ensure safe conditions.
“We feel that it is very safe to go there,” Tapia said.
Tapia and other Sonoran state officials were in Phoenix to meet with local leaders to stress the area’s safety.
Sonora is home to Rocky Point, San Carlos, Nogales and other popular tourist destinations.
Nogales, on the border of Mexico and Arizona, has been hit particularly hard because of drug-related shootings, which have made travelers weary of traveling south of the border.
The U.S. State Department currently has an advisory warning people to be careful if visiting Mexico because of recent shootings in northern Mexico municipalities.
The U.S. economic downturn also impacts Mexico’s tourism industry, Tapia said. “Economic issues in Arizona, they hurt us as much as you,” he said.
The region’s tourism hot spots are largely dependent on Arizona for business. For example, about 80 percent of tourists to Rocky Point, also known as Puerto Peñasco – home to timeshares, beachfront resorts and hotels – are from Arizona, said Antonio Proto, director of promotion and events for the Sonora tourism office.
Tapia said his office is collecting input from other leaders in the state that it will use to come up with a long-term business plan the agency can use to market the region.
