Travel advisories exist, but Mexico’s tourism industry ensures that visitors are safe
After the United States issued a travel advisory in October 2022, Google saw a 200% rise in the number of inquiries on how safe it is to travel to Cancun in March 2023. Although it’s reasonable to assume that folks were worried, many were unmoved and carried through their intentions to travel to Mexico, according to Detour.
Following the early March kidnapping of four American tourists in Matamoros, near the Texas border, two of whom were reportedly killed in the country while attending a cosmetic surgery appointment, the U.S. State Department issued another travel warning on March 13 advising its citizens to use caution when booking their spring break vacations in Mexico.
Founder of the travel company, Journey Mexico, and U.S. citizen, Zachary Rabinor issued a complicated concern about the complexity of estimating the harm that a U.S. travel alert might have on tourism.
“We can’t measure the loss of people who never called or simply decided to go to Yosemite, Florida, or the Caribbean,” Rabinor said.
According to TravelPulse, Mara Lezama, the governor of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is situated, reassured that traveling throughout Mexico was still very safe.
“99.999998% of tourists who come to vacation in Mexico return safe and sound,” Lezama said. “We had an episode, but it is not usual or the rule. The vast majority of tourists have no problems in Mexico.”
Out of Mexico’s 32 states, only Yucatan and Campeche are on the U.S. State Department’s Level 1 travel alert list, which advises U.S. citizens to “take normal precautions” when visiting those locations. Seventeen other states are on Level 2, which advises “take greater precautions when traveling.” Seven are categorized as Level 3, advising “reconsider travel” while Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas are included in the Level 4 alert, advising “do not travel” to those locations because of the high rates of crime and kidnapping there.
Chihuahua’s Minister of Innovation and Economic Development, Gerardo “Elvis” Vidales, said the region enjoys peace and that there have been no reported incidents involving tourists. Due to the alleged drug trafficker’s death who allegedly ordered the murder of two Jesuit priests, the state has been in the news recently. According to Vidales, who also recently spoke to TravelPulse, “The Chepe (Chihuahua-Pacific) Train continues to attract North American tourists who enjoy the wonderful scenery.”
According to Google Trends statistics, searches for travel inspiration to Mexico decreased in popularity by 75% in the week following the incident in Matamoros at the beginning of March. They have been declining ever since.
“We are getting cancellations and are doing everything we can to clear up the confusion, but it’s easier said than done. Some people have already decided and, as a result, we’ve lost business,” Steph Farr, co-owner of Maya Luxe said. The company looks after 100 mansions on the Riviera Maya.
Farr describes a significant disruption rather than a widespread loss of business. Even before the incident in Matamoros made the security situation in Mexico public, Farr said her sales team saw at least eight reservations canceled in February due to U.S. State Department security alerts.
Despite this, Alyson Nash, a travel coordinator for Cloud 10, a Virtuoso-affiliated agency, reported that she received numerous calls from travelers who kept Mexico on their travel wish lists, particularly for trips over the holidays.
He asserts that while it is occasionally a worry, inflation, rising taxes, hotel prices, and other fees take precedence. “The indecisions tend to relate less to safety and more to prices,” Nash continued.
With 100 uniformed officers who offer tourist advisory services, the government of Mexico City has established a corps of English-speaking tourist police that patrols the vast city from the Basilica of Guadalupe through the communities of La Roma and La Condesa, Coyoacan, San Angel, and Xochimilco.
English is spoken by 20% of the police, and some officers also speak French, German, and Mandarin. This police department represents the second attempt by the regional Mexican government to set up a specialized police force to ensure the safety of both domestic and foreign tourists. Ten years ago, Mexico City’s first tourist police force was established.
Evie Blanco is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, New York. She is extremely well-versed in hip-hop music and culture and is always aware of any developments within it. Whether it’s the latest in pop culture, a fascinating foreign destination, a truly amazing new restaurant, or breaking news, she loves to write about it all.
This story was originally published April 4, 2023 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Travel advisories exist, but Mexico’s tourism industry ensures that visitors are safe."