I'd describe the second article better than the first. The Boca Chica hotel is located in what'll become - in the next decade - Mexico's "South Beach." It's a higher-priced hotel than I typically stay at, but beautifully restored along one of the city's most popular beaches.

The first article indicates a relatively flat - or small increas in - tourist visits. 2009 was the year of H1N1 and tourism dropped dramatically. It's not a year to make a comparison with.

Where the tourists are arriving would be an important consideration. It's not just the northern border zone that's badly impacted by terrorism and violence - the scope of the problem touches many other areas as well.

Thanks for the further information sources.