Mexico has been having a bad run. First, the US and global econo
mic woes caused many migrant workers to return to their country, cutting down the flow of US dollars that help so many families and communities. The border city of Juarez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso, has been the site of thousands of drug cartel-related murders, and more recently, a drug-related gun battle in the tourist mecca of Acapulco left 18 people dead. Swine flu was reportedly traced back to an American-owned pig farm in Mexico. Earthquakes rattled central Mexico, and a fire in a day care center in the border state of Sonora killed 44. Aviaseca, a discount airline, was grounded for three days until a court order permitted it to resume flying again. Even a press trip to Mexico didn't materialize due to "scheduling problems."
mic woes caused many migrant workers to return to their country, cutting down the flow of US dollars that help so many families and communities. The border city of Juarez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso, has been the site of thousands of drug cartel-related murders, and more recently, a drug-related gun battle in the tourist mecca of Acapulco left 18 people dead. Swine flu was reportedly traced back to an American-owned pig farm in Mexico. Earthquakes rattled central Mexico, and a fire in a day care center in the border state of Sonora killed 44. Aviaseca, a discount airline, was grounded for three days until a court order permitted it to resume flying again. Even a press trip to Mexico didn't materialize due to "scheduling problems." My inbox is filled every day with deals from everywhere from Playa del Carmen on the Caribbean shore to Cabo San Lucas on the Pacific. Jimm Budd, an American travel journalist who has lived in Mexico City for years and is the travel columnist for the Mexico City newspaper Reforma, reports that "although hotel associations have been urging their members not to launch a rate war, management at some resorts apparently feels it has no choice. Tariffs at the Hilton Los Cabos are down by 60% compared to what was charged last season, according to newspaper reports. Rates at the Royal in Playa del Carmen on the Maya Riviera are down 50% While the Gran Velas on the Nayarit Riviera is offering savings of 25%."
He cautions bargain hunters "invest some time in research. The Tourism Ministry has launched its own web page with numerous packages listed, but one newspaper reported better prices are available from ordinary tour operators. Critics also note that no intercity bus transportation is offered in the Ministry packages."
Newspaper headlines can scare people away from Mexico or anyplace else (a friend's daughter just returned, unscathed, from "war ravaged" Sir Lanka), but those Americans who venture southward will find a wonderful country, lively cities (Mazatlan, above right) scenic beauty, art, music, sport, terrific people -- and low prices.
Followup from Jimm Budd on June 16: "Battered first by the worldwide recession, then by reports of violence associated with the crackdown on narcotics smugglers and finally by the swine flu pandemic, Mexican hoteliers report business gradually is getting better. Hotel occupancy, which had fallen as low as ten or twenty percent, now is about fifty percent both in urban and seaside hotels. This should improve considerably next month, when schools go on vacation. Even so, much to the distress of innkeepers, the vacation season will be shorter this summer. Since classes in areas such as Mexico City were obliged cancelled for two weeks during the flu scare, an extra 14 days is being added to the school year."
Followup from Jimm Budd on June 16: "Battered first by the worldwide recession, then by reports of violence associated with the crackdown on narcotics smugglers and finally by the swine flu pandemic, Mexican hoteliers report business gradually is getting better. Hotel occupancy, which had fallen as low as ten or twenty percent, now is about fifty percent both in urban and seaside hotels. This should improve considerably next month, when schools go on vacation. Even so, much to the distress of innkeepers, the vacation season will be shorter this summer. Since classes in areas such as Mexico City were obliged cancelled for two weeks during the flu scare, an extra 14 days is being added to the school year."
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I don't know if I would want to go down to Mexico right now with all the drug violence and kidnappings, even if there are travel bargains.
ReplyDeleteGuam Blog - Many travelers feel the way you do, which is part of Mexico's current problem -- and the reason travel providers are offering such incredible deals. I know that I wouldn't care to take a road trip into Mexico via Juarez right now. Changing planes at Mexico City Airport is unpleasant, flu scare or no flu scare. And sadly, central Mexico is in an earthquake zone -- with all of its unpredictability But there are plenty of places in Mexico that I have no qualms in visiting. Of course, every traveler ultimately makes his or her own choice about where to go. The point, for many of us, is just to keep on going -- to travel somewhere and see and experience something new.
ReplyDeleteMexico is safe but as every country it has their not safe areas.
ReplyDeleteTiajuana, El Paso and Cualican are rally dangerous but if you got a taxi and a hotel you are safe.
Mexico city is safe in normal areas but as new york it has dangerous areas like Tepito.
The people who say it's not safe are just getting their information from Fox News and they believe everything Fox News says.
People that live in Mexico or travel there frequently know that it's safe except for the border towns. The majority of the people killed in Mexico are people the drug cartels want to eliminate (members of other cartels and police)--they are not targeting tourists.
The majority of people kidnapped are people that the kidnappers know are wealthy (they know how much wealth and what assets can be liquidated to provide the ransom)--they are not targeting tourists.
Tens of thousands of kids went to Cancun and the Riveria Maya this spring and they all came home without bullet holes. People in Mexico think that the USA is more dangerous the killings are more widespread and random:
A gunman burst into a North Carolina nursing home Sunday morning and started "shooting everything," killing seven residents and a nurse and wounding at least three others.
All that being said, there's a small chance that something bad could happen.
Claire,
ReplyDeleteSo where would you go in Mexico these days? What is safe there, in your opinion? If there are deals in Mexico, it would be nice to be pointed in a direction.
Melanie
I think that the US is the murder capital of the world - foreign tourists are often killed here. Lots of parts of Detroit, New York, and LA are very dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure parts of Mexico are totally safe.
Melanie - Earthquakes are unpredictable and other misfortunes that have befallen Mexico really haven't impacted tourists.
ReplyDeleteI was in Huatulco late last year -- a delightful, laid-back cluster of communities in southwestern Mexico. It's in the state of Oxaca, which has been implicated in the early incidences of swine flu. The city of Oxaca is some 250 miles south of the "epicenter of swine flu," and Huatulco several hundred miles from Oxaca City.
I was in El Fuerte (a charming colonial town) and in the Copper Canyon in Feburary. I rode from El Fuerte to Mazatlan by bus, passing through (and making a pit stop in) Culiacan, reputedly a major drug trafficking center. The gas stateion/convenience store/restaurant rest stop was guarded by an armed solider. Would I have gone into town at night? No, but then again, I would not have any reason to do so.
Mazatlan is a big, busy city with a charming and safe-feeling historic center. Tourist zones too feel very safe.
ybille - Perhaps you know of incidents that I don't. This past April a bus carrying 34 French tourists had an accident in Monterrey, Calif., killing five. Other than that, I don't know of any recent foreign tourist deaths in the US. I've read of American (and foreign) visitors killed in the last few years in China, Yemen, Thailand, Brazil and Egypt. But not in the US -- except for that bus crash.
Readers might be interested to see a local business owner's view of the situation.
ReplyDeleteI returned from Puerto Vallarta a few weeks before the H1N1 virus broke out. I received this biting yet compelling note regarding local business and the public perception.
quote: "All the major TV media outlets depict Mexico as a uniformly dangerous, violent place, source of illegal and undesirable immigrants, and which is now “plagued by contagious disease.” The fact is, most of Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta, is peaceful, safe, and healthy. The violence is over 1,000 mile away. Puerto Vallarta has a lower crime rate than MANY U.S. cities…perhaps even yours! The nearest case of H1N1 virus is some 600 miles away."
the rest:
http://tinyurl.com/l62wot
James Van Dellen / Denver