Rocky Point, a sunny slice of Mexico's coast, is starting to see a return to normalcy following the rocky holiday season that saw the Lukeville Port of Entry shuttered. Business owners in this beach town, frequented by American tourists, are cautiously optimistic as the spring break heralds a long-awaited upswing in revenue – though the road to recovery appears slow.

Restaurants and rental property owners suffered heavy losses due to the border closure – Cindi Lowe of Ole Mole Peñasco Restaurant told ABC15, "Spring break is usually pretty crowded. Last week, we expected [a] large crowd — we did not get it." This sentiment was echoed by the "Why Not Travel Store" manager Bernadette Nez, who, in a statement obtained by Arizona's Family, explained that business in December was down about 90%, barely covering their electric bill.

Despite this plight, there's a shift happening. Salvador Cabrales, a property owner, noticed a change in booking patterns, with reservations being made much closer to the travel date. "We'll get booked up two months and three months ahead and what we're seeing now is bookings that happen often a week before," Cabrales said according to ABC15 interview. Meanwhile, Nez advises travelers to drive safely, abstain from drinking and driving, and ensure all proper documents and insurances are in order – particularly cautioning against bringing weapons across the border.

Restaurants like Grapes & Barley are beginning to perk up, although the immediate impact of the port's reopening wasn't felt. Still, each passing week sees more tourists flooding in, with Arizona locals leading the charge, followed by visitors from California and New Mexico. Indeed, despite the initial quietude, there's growing confidence that the numbers will rise steadily. As Lowe put it, owners feel like "It’s kind of like starting over. We're slowly building back up."

And the numbers share a speck of optimism – the Convention and Visitors Bureau relayed to Arizona's Family that approximately 152,000 tourists made the journey to Rocky Point last year, marking a 12% increase from the prior year. If this uptick is anything to go by, Rocky Point could be en route, to not only returning to pre-pandemic numbers, but potentially surpassing them as the area's businesses claw their way back to prosperity.