 Tijuana Mexico Tourism History - The 1920s changed Tijuana forever when the enactment of prohibition in the US sent droves of Americans across the border to partake in legal drinking and gambling. Large and impressive casinos opened, like Agua Caliente in Tijuana. The Caesar Salad was invented during this period in the city in a hotel named Cesar on the now renowned Avenida Revolucion.
The international events of the following years had profound repercussions on the city. Tourism increased significantly as innumerable Americans came to Tijuana to enjoy the nightlife. In addition, the large number of Mexican citizens from all over the country began to relocate to Tijuana, tripling the population. Between 1940 and 1950 the city grew from 21,971 to 65,364 inhabitants.
In the 1950s, when nightlife and tourism began to decline, the city started to restructure its tourist industry, by promoting a more family oriented scene. Tijuana began to develop a greater variety of attractions and activities to offer its visitors.
In 1994, PRI presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio was assassinated in Tijuana while making an appearance in the plaza of Colonia Lomas Taurinas, a neighborhood nestled in a valley near Centro. The shooter was caught and imprisoned, but doubts remain about who his paymaster might have been.
Today, the Tijuana-San Ysidro border crossing is the most crossed international land border in the world. Although tourism constitutes a large part of this movement, Tijuana and its surrounding area has become a major player in NAFTA with new maquiladoras and industrial plants. |
