SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1006877
THE TIJUANA YOU Should Know As the location for the SCORE Tijuana Desert Challenge, tourists are finding out more about how this city has changed to be a top destination With a present population of close to two million inhabitants, Tijuana, Mexico, and its neighbor Southern California, represent one of the most important economic regions in the world. In recent years, Tijuana has been referred to as the busiest border crossing in the world as well as an avant-garde cuisine destination. It’s also an international site for the manufacturing of aerospace, automotive and medical technology, plus one of Mexico's cultural hubs. For those who haven’t visited the area in a while, this is a description of Tijuana that they might not have expected. Most who visit the city, however, come away with a whole different opinion of the Tijuana they thought they knew. ORIGINS AND TRANSFORMATION Founded in 1889, the origins of Tijuana, date back to having a reputation as a notorious border town with a main street full of waterholes and cantinas. It was known for its traditional bullfighting rings, horse racing, casinos and its Fronton Jai-Alai palace, as well as many duty-free stores. But as the years passed, Tijuana has gone through some eye-opening development which includes a second border crossing, an expanded international airport, new boulevards, and the Zona Rio, which has attracted several financial headquarters. It's also home to the Tijuana Cultural Center, many hospitals, and medical centers, as well as a plethora of premium restaurants and hotels. A CITY WITH MANY TYPES OF TOURISTS. For many years within the tourism industry, it was thought that tourists were those who only went on vacations to enjoy the sun and beaches. But as time passed, it was widely recognized that tourism could be generated by many types of activities. Nowhere in Mexico is that truer than in Tijuana. The days of American teenagers flocking to bars on Revolucion Avenue, or tourists coming to gamble on the horse and dog races, the shopping, and the bullfights have all given way to a vast new variety of reasons why Tijuana is now receiving more visitors than ever. With a long-standing tradition for great Mexican and international food, thanks in great part to the area’s claim of inventing Caesar's Salad and the Margarita, the city is now recognized as one of the most dynamic and exciting culinary destinations in the world. In recent years, famous chefs like the late Anthony Bourdain, as well as Rick Bayless and Andrew Zimmer, came to Tijuana to experiment the great gastronomic revolution here and helped to catapult Baja Med Cuisine, Mexican street food, and the production of craft beer and regional wines. Today thousands of tourists from both sides of the border are making the trip Tijuana to experience and taste its many delicacies. With many corporations from countries like China, Japan, Korea and the U.S. settling themselves throughout the many industrial parks, and with a dynamic commercial growth, business tourism has become the main source of Tijuana’s highest rate of hotel occupancy in years. From manufacturing automobiles, flat screen TV's, aerospace equipment, and medical instruments among other products, Tijuana’s corporate growth have also generated the need for more housing and the construction of new hotels in the city. Many of these include U.S. chains like Hyatt, Residence Inn, Marriott, and Hampton Inn. One particular area that has branched out is the development of medical treatment and services. For many years, you could come to Tijuana for excellent dentistry work. But within the last 15 years, Tijuana has become the number one medical tourism destination in Mexico, and one of the top five worldwide. With modern technology for cancer and stem cell treatments, as well as other specialties such as sports medicine and cosmetic surgery, tourists from all over the world, are visiting the city for a variety of medical treatments and are spreading the word of its success. Another recent contributor to the increase of visitors to Tijuana is the six-year-old Metropolitan Convention Center, located just south of the city in Rosarito Beach. The center has become the preferred location for several important national and international conventions, seminars, and expos. Furthermore, Tijuana has become a sort of "City of Champions" with the establishment of sports teams that have quickly become national champions including the Xolos soccer team, the Toros baseball team, and the Zonkeys basketball team, all of which attract thousands of fans from the rest of the state as well as from the other side of the border. GETTING ALL THE RIGHT PIECES TOGETHER. Most cities realize that ideal geographical location alone is not going to be enough if you want to develop yourself into a major economic region. City officials recognize that they also need support from the building of public infrastructure, in order to provide services that cater to those wanting to visit. With that in mind, Tijuana has spent the last few years getting all of the right pieces together in order to compete on the world stage. When you have the busiest border crossing of people and merchandise in the world you better have good border infrastructure. With a second border crossing in Otay and the multimillion-dollar expansion at San Ysidro, this region is finally getting the support it needed in order to expedite the huge daily trans-border traffic. Because many of those people and merchandise move by land, there was also the need for better inner-city boulevards and highways; many of which are now operating, with more thoroughfares underway. There was also the need to improve air connectivity, so now Tijuana's International Airport is the second best-connected air terminal in Mexico, second only to Mexico City. Rodriguez International Airport includes international flights from China as well as being the only trans-border terminal bridge in the world allowing passengers to cross the border in both ways at the same airport. When you visit Tijuana, you will not help but notice the tremendous amount of buildings under construction all over the city, many of which are condominiums for American citizens who are taking advantage of the huge difference in prices from the U.S. as well as more and more people from the interior of Mexico that are moving to this bustling border city. A CITY OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES. It should come as no surprise that like any other dynamic and growing city in the world, Tijuana faces challenges as well as opportunities that influence its perception. Perhaps the most important element of all, it's people, this 129-years old city will surely surpass the many and varied challenges that the present and future will bring, thanks to a growing pride in its inhabitants. So next time you hear or read something about Tijuana be sure and take the time to come and discover a unique experience that more and more people are finding out about.