As a person who has visited Mexico twice in the past three months (first to Cancun, then Cabo), I’m saddened by all the recent headlines about the huge drop-off in tourism there. It’s not that I can’t understand why people wouldn’t necessarily chose this particular time to visit —just last October a Canadian tourist in Acapulco was found dead in his rental car, and another was shot in the leg during a firefight in Mazatlan.
And as much as a tourism company or media outlet can say over and over again that the violence isn’t, for the most part, directed at tourists, for some that reassurance simply isn’t enough.
I, for one, wasn’t the slightest bit worried when I went to Cancun and Cabo. Firstly, my own high school was a breeding ground for drug and turf “wars”—I don’t need to travel to Mexico to see that. Secondly, I live in New York City, and let’s be honest, this isn’t necessarily the safest of places in the world, either.
But more importantly, I knew that the places I was traveling to were as safe as they possibly could have been—large tourist destinations during months where (in previous years) and lot of other tourists would be traveling as well. What exploring we did during those trips was not too far from the hotel, and always at the advice of hotel staff or other tour guides. To be honest, I felt more unsafe around the hoards of drunken American Spring Breakers than I did out and about in the town in Mexico.
Seriously, drunk kids can do stupid things sometimes.
Having said all that, I would never, ever, in a million years recommend to someone that they should travel to Mexico if they felt even the slightest bit uncomfortable or unsafe. Mexico is beautiful. And it’s fascinating and fun and exciting. You can’t experience all of that when you’re constantly looking behind you and worried about whether or not you’re going to get shot by a drug lord.
Sadly, it seems that until these senseless, disgusting acts of violence in Mexico are over, the entire place will suffer…..
P.S. Check out this sobering graph, courtesy of the WSJ, to see just how badly Mexico really is suffering:
