Arrest in Sonora not expected to curb travel
Yanira Maldonado’s nineday ordeal in a Mexico jail on groundless drug-trafficking accusations is probably not going to do any lasting damage to the delicate economic ties between Arizona and its southern neighbor, according to travel experts and a top Mexican official.
Sonora Gov. Guillermo Padrés Elías said he did not think Maldonado’s nightmarish experience, which drew international attention, would impact tourism between the two border states.
And an expert on transborder studies said that if years of drug-cartel violence hadn’t deterred Americans from heading south of the border, an incident like this was
not going to affect travel despite widespread media coverage.
In an effort to reassure Arizonans planning summer trips to Mexico, Padrés Elías promised that his state government will do everything it can to protect law-abiding Americans. And he said Sonora, the state directly south of Arizona, welcomes Americans and treats them with respect.
“All of the visitors from the United States that come to Sonora will all be treated kindly, will be welcome with open arms and a big smile,” he said during an interview Friday with
“We want them to come down there. They’re our guests, and we want them to have a very good (time). Sonora is always their second home. The (Sonoran) state government and the governor will always be in contact … with Governor (Jan) Brewer to ensure that every visitor we have from Arizona, from the United States, is treated with respect and open arms.”
So far, at least, those in the local travel industry say they haven’t seen a shift.
Mike Jarvinen, co-owner of Head Out to Rocky Point, a Valley-based shuttle service to the popular Mexican beach resort of Rocky Point, said he thinks the incident should have already cost him business. Instead, his van has been full and remains so, he said.
“We run just about every day, and I haven’t heard anything about it,” he said.
Most travelers who consider visiting Mexico stay in resort areas they consider safe and travel with other tourists, said Linda Gorman, a spokeswoman for AAA Arizona. That suggests they aren’t likely to be swayed by a case involving a bus passenger not with a group, she said.
The number of tourists traveling to Mexico from the United States has dropped off in recent years as the economy fell into worldwide recession and cartel-related violence led to the killing of an estimated 70,000 people in Mexico since 2006. A flu epidemic in Mexico in 2009 added to the drop-off. Tourism is central to the Mexican economy, and it has largely fared well otherwise with visitors outside the U.S., according to the Mexican tourism agency. The U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries reported that travel to Mexico rose 1 percent in 2012, to 20 million.
In some ways, Maldonado’s case was the worst nightmare for Americans already fearful of traveling to Mexico.
Maldonado, a 42-year-old Goodyear resident, was jailed May 22 after authorities found bundles of marijuana under her bus seat in Querobabi, a small town about 100 miles south of Nogales. She was released late Thursday after Mexican officials said a surveillance tape showed her boarding the bus carrying only blankets and water.
Erik Lee, associate director at Arizo- na State University’s North American Center for Transborder Studies, doubts the incident will have a lasting impact on American travelers.
“It’s amazing what hasn’t affected travel with Mexico,” he said, referring to cartel violence. “The big tourist destinations haven’t seen a big drop-off. If we’ve made it through the last six or seven years and the numbers are still above 20 million visitations to Mexico a year, I don’t think this will have much of an effect in the medium to long term.”
During an impromptu news conference Friday in downtown Phoenix, Padrés Elías said Sonora is Mexico’s safest state, and he encouraged Arizonans to continue to travel to popular destinations, such as Nogales, Rocky Point, Hermosillo and Guaymas.
“We see you as family, so we want to continue with that,” he said. “You can travel, you can go to Sonora. You’ll always be treated well. We’re your allies — the government is always going to be in back of you.”
Padrés Elías said visitors should “stay on the right side of the law” when visiting Mexico. “Just protect and abide by our laws,,” he said. “This is a very bad moment for Yanira. She’s innocent.
“I guarantee you that the state of Sonora is always going to be on your side, and we’re going to always provide all the assistance, everything we can do to help you have a good time.”
Rita Wilcox, a travel agent with Rocky Point Reservations in Glendale, said she had received only one call from a prospective traveler in recent days who expressed safety fears about Mexico. With schools out in Arizona, Rocky Point was fully booked this weekend, Wilcox said.
Still, Wilcox, who also owns a home in the Mexican town, acknowledged that years of extreme violence by the warring drug cartels has corroded Mexico’s image. Wilcox couldn’t shake the doubt of the one caller who was worried about the Maldonado incident and her trip.
“I told her this didn’t happen in Rocky Point,” Wilcox said. “She said, ‘Yeah, but it was in Mexico.’ ”
In November, the U.S. State Department offered an updated warning on traveling in Mexico with a detailed list of places American travelers should avoid. Maldonado was seemingly following the warning: She was traveling in the morning and was well to the east of the Nogales-Caborca-Sonoyta triangle, known for its drug-related violence.
Even Rocky Point has been cited as a concern. “U.S. citizens in Puerto Peñasco are encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to bolster their personal security following a July 2012 mid-day gunbattle between TCO (transnational criminal organization) members and increases in reported robberies and assaults against U.S. citizens,” the State Department warned.