2/09
Update – Mexico travel alert
Mexico in the News by Sal Buccellato – Signature Vacations
For any inquiries related to the media coverage over a Travel Alert issued by the US Government, specifying concerns over drug violence in border towns. The Travel Alert references Northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez. At no point does it indicates concerns over vacationers travelling to resort locations such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Huatulco. Unfortunately the American media irresponsibly made a connection between this Travel Alert and the tens of thousands of Spring Breakers heading to Cancun in March. If you would like to read the actual Alert issued by the US government, visit here
The Canadian media started to pick up this story late last week despite the fact that Canada has not issued any Travel Alert for Mexico. You may have heard that Ottawa is warning Canadians “to exercise an extreme amount of caution” when traveling to Mexico. Mexico has always had this status on our Foreign Affairs site, to put this in perspective it also says Canadians should exercise an extreme amount of caution when traveling to Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.
They failed to mention that it says “There is no Official Warning for this Country” and our Foreign Affairs site references the same areas as the American warning, including Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. To further put this in perspective, the towns referenced are over 1200 kilometers North of Puerto Vallarta near the US border – this is like warning visitors to Saskatoon not to go on Hastings street in Vancouver. If you would like to read the Canadian Government’s Travel Policy for Mexico, visit here.
Quote from the Mexican Government:
“Mexico remains a safe tourist destination and this is reflected in the 22.6 million international visitors that arrived in 2008, of which, 1,466,650 were Canadians. This number represents a 20% increase from the previous year. Mexico is the tenth most visited tourist destination in the world and is a very large country with many safe destinations to visit and enjoy. The violence associated with drug trafficking is isolated in cities that are far away from tourism destinations. We suggest using common precautions as when traveling to any foreign country.”
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