EL PASO, Texas -- Hotels near the El Paso International Airport were busy Monday, and some were sold out for the next few days.

The annual Brut Sun Bowl game on New Year’s Eve always means big bucks for area hotels and businesses, including this year with the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Oregon State Beavers facing off.

“We're anticipating $15 million in economic impact. We're probably looking at 6,000 to 7,000 visitors during the week,” said Bill Blaziek, general manager of the El Paso Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Before the tourists ever stepped foot off the plane, they were warned about the ongoing violence in El Paso's sister-city, Juarez.

“We were warned by a brochure they gave us before we came down to not go into Mexico because of the crime rate,” said Kevin Wulf, of Pittsburgh.

“When we looked into coming to El Paso we thought, ‘What else can we do?’ Of course with Mexico being so close we thought about going there, but then we heard of the crime there and decided not to go,” said Donna Sloan, of Pittsburgh.

Up until last year, charter groups organizing events for out-of-towners would offer a trip to the border so that tourists could experience two cultures during their stay. However, this year there are no plans on taking guests to the international port of entry, which means Sloan and others will spend their money in El Paso instead.

The death toll in Juarez has exceeded 1,500 this year alone due to the ongoing drug wars.

“It's on the news even up in Pittsburgh, on the evening news. With the drug wars going on, policemen are being decapitated. We've definitely heard about it up north,” said Wulf, who even then considered going to Juarez before being warned by the charter group organizers.

While the violence in Juarez may be tainting El Paso's image in the U.S., hotels have seen an increase in business overall.

“Mexican nationals want to come to El Paso. They want a safe and anxiety-free environment. They want to shop, dine and be entertained. They're making mini-vacations out of their trips to El Paso,” said Blaziek.

According to Smith Travel Research hotel occupancy was 72.1 percent in November, up two points over the last year. Meanwhile, passenger traffic at the El Paso International Airport declined 13 percent in November compared to last year.