Tijuana tourism and medical firms see slump in business

Tourists have been cancelling trips to the Mexican state of Baja California since the border crossing shut down briefly a week ago

US Marines install razor wire along the US-Mexico border fence, as seen from Tijuana, Mexico. Getty Images

Marines continued reinforcing the fence on the San Diego side of the border, with thousands of members of the migrant caravan housed nearby in Tijuana. Getty Images

A migrant dries his shoes at a new temporary shelter east Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico. AFP

Daniel Castilla, 19, from Honduras, wears a US flag as he looks out over migrant tents at a former concert venue now serving as a shelter, in Tijuana, Mexico. AP Photo

A man hugs his daughter inside a former concert venue serving as a shelter for migrants in Tijuana, Mexico. AP Photo

A boy cries as he and other migrants, try to reach the United States in Tijuana, Mexico. Reuters

Alondra Rios Caseras, 7, walks up a hill to meet waiting US border patrol agents after she, her parents, and her two sisters crossed over the border fence. AP Photo

A Honduran migrant helps a young girl cross to the American side of the border wall, in Tijuana, Mexico. AP Photo

Britany Alondra, a seven year old migrant from Honduras, looks through the US-Mexico border fence in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. AFP

Honduran migrants react as they surrender to the US Border Patrol after crossing the border into the United States. AP Photo

Tour operators and medical and dental offices in the Mexican border city of Tijuana are reporting a slowdown in business since a caravan of Central American migrants arrived.

Tourists and visitors have been cancelling planned trips to the Mexican state of Baja California since the border crossing shut down briefly a week ago, and according to tour-friendly business owners, many fear getting trapped in Mexico should the crossing close again, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Sunday.

Antonio Gamboa, who owns a food truck park, said business has slumped 30 per cent.

"It's very disappointing because everything is normal in Tijuana, and it's a very isolated area where the migrants are," he said.

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Thousands of migrants, mostly Hondurans, have joined caravans in recent weeks in an effort to speed across Mexico to request refuge in the United States. The border crossing — which Tijuana residents use to reach jobs and shopping on the US side and US tourists use to head south— was closed briefly last weekend after some migrants tried to rush across.

About 6,000 migrants were staying in an overcrowded shelter that authorities closed over the weekend, moving people instead to a former concert venue further from the border. Dozens of migrants interviewed by The Associated Press have said they are fleeing poverty and violence back home.

The Rosarito Beach Hotel, which hosts many American tourists, has seen business drop 60 per cent, said owner Hugo Torres. And members of the Tijuana medical association are offering discounts and benefits for local and US patients to try to make up for lost business.

Georgina Carabarin, a prosthodontist in Tijuana, said about 70 per cent of her patients come from San Diego.

"Right now, we're hoping everything goes back to normal," she said. "On the news, they keep saying there are more people coming, so some patients are saying let's wait for the situation to cool down and then we'll set up another appointment later."