We've found this huge, diverse land to be an inexhaustible source not only of beachy vacation fun but urban sophistication; folkloric fabulousness; spellbinding historic and archaeological sites; culinary wonders; and mucho, mucho más...
cover photo: Gerson Represa
Comments
"The main problems in Mexico involve interior areas that are far from the Riviera Maya and Cozumel beaches more frequented by sun-seeking tourists.
...While the US State Department has travel warnings in place for Mexico, the violence and the warnings are far from resort areas such as Cancun, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, and Los Cabos, popular incentive destinations.
...There's no denying the country does have problems. It is not advisable to drive on rural roads and highways at night. Bandits occasionally set up roadblocks and rob travellers, for example. But incidents are far from commonplace.
...The State Department warning advises US citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Michoacán and Tamaulipas, and to parts of Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, and Coahuila.
The warning also says: 'Millions of US citizens safely visit Mexico each year. This includes tens of thousands who cross the border every day for study, tourism or business and at least one million US citizens who live in Mexico … Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes.'
...One piece of evidence of the country’s relative safety for most visits: Many tourists to the country are repeat visitors, which demonstrates that the vast majority of tourists leave with overwhelmingly positive impressions."
http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1144844.php
The effects of 1000's of hotel workers being given forced vacation with no guarantees of a date to return. Hotel chains closing completely due to the huge downturn in visitors. Bars & Restaurants closing completely and many more people out of work.
The ironic thing is the Tourism Board haven't acted quick enough to combat the the massive injustice the world's press have reported on the problems within Mexico. It's the same old story, "lets lock the gate after the horse has bolted", and a prime example was the H1N1 epidemic "swine flu" saga, when Cancun & Riviera Maya where not even effected, but did the local authorities do anything to allay fears....3 months too late!
All of the reports I have read, and the posts listed are of the same opinion, that most of the "Tourist Zones" within Mexico are safe, within reason. You wouldn't venture into the downtown of most world cities without maintaining an amount of caution. So why would Mexico be any different !
It' a crying shame, because I am British, and my wife and family are Mexican. If the situation gets any worse then we may be forced to leave our fabulous home and make home back in England. Eight wonderful years I have lived here, and I will be hoping it could be many more , but we need to make tourists aware of the "real" situation regarding all tourism. Keep up the good work, and together we'll spread the word. http://communitymaya.com