Baja California’s tourism office launched a trolley advertising campaign this week, wrapping six San Diego MTS cars in full-color branding to pitch the state’s destinations to Comic-Con crowds and summer commuters. The campaign, titled “Baja California es para ti,” debuted Thursday at the 12th and Imperial Avenue station in downtown San Diego.
The wrapped trolleys run on the Blue, Orange, and Green lines through the end of summer. They feature images of Ensenada’s wine valleys, Mexicali’s sandboarding dunes, and Pacific coast beaches. The state’s Secretaría de Turismo said the campaign targets all seven of Baja California’s tourism destinations.
125,000 Daily Riders Across San Diego
The MTS trolley system carries roughly 125,000 riders per day across routes through Mission Valley, Old Town, El Cajon, and the UTC-La Jolla corridor. The Baja wraps join 45 other Comic-Con branded trolley cars already in circulation, according to Mark Olson, MTS Director of Marketing and Communications.
San Diego Comic-Con, one of the largest pop culture conventions in the world, draws tens of thousands of visitors to the city each July. The trolley is a primary transit link to the San Diego Convention Center, and wrapped cars have become an annual tradition tied to the event. In 2023, Comic-Con generated an additional 250,000 trolley rides.
State Officials Target Southern California Market
Baja California tourism officials described the campaign as aimed at the state’s “natural market,” meaning Southern California residents who live close to the border but may not have crossed into Mexico. The timing was deliberate. “We did it at a very opportune moment, which is Comic-Con,” a state tourism official told Mexican media.
The launch event drew several officials from both sides of the border: Sharon Cooney, CEO of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System; Alberto Lozano, Tourism and Press Consul at the Mexican Consulate in San Diego; Stephen Whitburn, board chair of San Diego City District; and Brian Riley, VP of Operations at MTS.
No Word on Cost or Extension
Baja California officials have not disclosed the campaign’s cost or whether it will extend beyond the summer season. The campaign does not address common friction points for potential cross-border visitors, such as border wait times or safety concerns. Still, it places Baja destinations in front of a captive transit audience during San Diego’s busiest tourism period.
The story was first reported by El Imparcial and Uniradio Informa.