February 16, 2018
On February 15th, the Chamber hosted a Cross-Border Business Forum focusing on San Diego and Baja, California Norte as a binational tourist destination. A panel of experts answered key questions such as what are the benefits and challenges of promoting and supporting cross-border tourism in the region, shared statistics on the economic impact of a “two-nation vacation”, and discussed the growth potential of joint strategies to promote cross-border tourism.
Panelists shared existing ongoing collaboration between tourism organizations on both sides of the border and shared efforts towards sustainable tourism in the region. One of the biggest challenges mentioned was border wait northbound, which becomes a barrier for binational tourism. Closing remarks looked into the future of cross-border tourism and determined that more investment is needed to promote visiting both countries in one stop, incorporating nautical tourism which already represents a significant income for San Diego and Baja California, and the expansion and promotion of the Trusted Traveler Program to facilitate crossings from tourists visiting from northern California.
The forum welcomed stakeholders from both sides of the border including service providers, government representatives, promoters, and media.
