USA TODAY International Edition
Proceed with caution if traveling to Mexico
The travel and tourism industry is a major economic driver for the Mexican economy, with more than 44 million visitors expected in 2019.
But the current U.S. political climate toward Mexico, safety and security concerns even in tourist areas, the dismantling of the national tourism board in May and reports of massive amounts of algae washing up on some beaches may leave some travelers with doubts about whether to travel south of the border.
And whether tourists should travel to Mexico may depend on where they’re going and how they prepare.
In May, YestoMexico, a U.S. nonprofit organization that seeks to educate travelers about Mexico in order to encourage visitation, surveyed a network of U.S. travel agents and professionals in the Mexican tourism industry about the perceived impact of media reporting in the U.S. on Mexico’s reputation. Of the more than 200 people who responded, 93% said they felt that Mexico’s reputation as a tourist destination had been at least slightly afftected as a result of constant news reports on immigration and border security issues.
Political backdrop
In a deal announced this month, Mexico agreed to increase security along its southern border with Guatemala, where many Central Americans cross on their way to the U.S.
In addition, Mexico has agreed to take “decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks,” according to an overview of the agreement released by the U.S. State Department.
President Donald Trump had threatened 5% tariffs on all Mexican imports unless officials there figured out a way to crack down on the flow of migrants.
“The ongoing politics surrounding what’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border is a factor that can’t be ignored, says Tom Brussow, president of YesToMexico and Sunsational Beach Vacations, a travel agency based in Wisconsin.
Dissolution of the tourism board
In May, the Mexico Tourism Board, known as the Consejo, was hit with drastic cuts.
“The decision by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to disband the Mexico Tourism Board is unfortunate for those of us who want to promote and share the wonders of Mexico with the world,” said Zachary Rabinor, CEO of Journey Mexico, a network of travel planners specializing in Mexico. “It is great to see AMLO’s passion for investing in the Mayan Train that will traverse the Yucatan Peninsula, but promoting Mexico as a world-class travel destination is equally important.”
Funding is being diverted from the tourism board to the Mayan Train project, which aims to create more comprehensive transit for local communities.
The individual states of Mexico are now reliant on their own funding to promote themselves to foreign tourists instead of centralized government help.
“The dissolution of the Mexico Tourism Board has affected us by not having a promotional umbrella campaign for the entire country and different segments in the country, the majority of which have always promoted the Quintana Roo destinations,” Dario Flota Ocampo, director of the Quintana Roo Tourism Board, told USA TODAY. Quintana Roo includes the hot spots of Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.
“The greatest impact has been on budget,” Ocampo says. “For example, participation in international trade shows and fairs now costs us five or six times more than what it cost before.”
Is Mexico safe?
The U.S. State Department currently has Mexico at a Level 2 travel advisory on a scale of 1 to 4, which means “exercise increased caution.” But some of Mexico’s states have Level 4 advisories, including Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas. Tourist regions such as Baja California, Quintana Roo and Oaxaca have a Level 2 advisory.
Some tourists have had problems. Thomas Finn said in a Twitter post that he was robbed in Mexico June 3.
“A guy took $200 from me in Cancun night club, and he made a lunge towards me and before he could hit me, I hit him in the head with my water bottle and immediately sprinted away back to my hotel,” Finn told USA TODAY in an email. Tourist areas are not immune. The State Department issued a travel advisory in August warning Americans headed to Mexico to use caution in several states the same week eight bodies were discovered in Cancun outside the city’s beach hotel zone, though the warning did not refer to the Quintana Roo/Cancun area.
An investigation last year by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, found that more than 170 travelers had become sick, seriously injured — and in some cases died — after drinking small and moderate amounts of alcohol at all-inclusive resorts throughout the country.
David Leventhal is the owner of Playa Viva resort in Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa in the Guerrero state, which has a Level 4 travel advisory warning (do not travel). Leventhal believes the travel ban in his region is wrong because it is a blanket ban on the entire state.
“This is like banning all travel to a state like Colorado as a result of a series of school shootings,” Leventhal told USA TODAY. “Tourists are in no more danger skiing in Aspen or Vail as a result of school shootings. Potential gang violence in the non-tourist areas does not make beach vacation tourist areas dangerous.”
Some cities and states in Mexico are creating security measures to maintain and increase tourism.
Rodrigo Esponda, managing director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, told USA TODAY that Los Cabos implemented a five-point turnaround plan in 2017 to strengthen security infrastructure. As a result, Esponda says the destination has experienced a more than 90% decrease in crime since 2017.
“Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations, like Cancun, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City and Cabo San Lucas, remain safe,” Brussow says. “Perception doesn’t always match reality, as often violent crimes that are reported on in the U.S. take place outside of main tourism zones. However, by tourists using common sense and taking reasonable safety precautions, they should have no hesitancy in visiting Mexico.”
Some beaches overrun by algae
Another issue is that Caribbean beaches in Mexico, including Cancun and Cozumel, are suffering from algae bloom. The putrid macro algae, or sargassum, is being carried by ocean currents between the Atlantic Ocean and Brazil.
Experts urge travelers to check with their hotels to make sure they have procedures in place to clear their beaches of the algae as needed. Some days, the hotels may need to clear the beaches more than once a day, while at other times it may be needed only a couple of times a week.
Measures to repurpose the sargassum also are underway.
“Numerous projects have been proposed by government and private entities to use the sargassum in composting, fertilization for golf courses, shoe soles, construction materials, cellulose to make paper, to generate electricity in hotels and obtaining collagen for cosmetic use, among other ideas,” Ocampo says.
There are other attractions beyond the beaches, such as golf and spas, that make the Quintana Roo region still worth a visit, he said.
Contributing: David Jackson, Lilly Price