Is Mexico safe?

The U.S. media has put a focal point on Mexico recently, focusing on the dangerous and deadly drug-related violence. But should you avoid vacationing in our neighbor to the south? At this point, the answer is no.

The media uproar started February 20 when the U.S. Department of State issued a travel alert for Mexico. When read closely, however, this alert related to incidents in the border towns of Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua. The most popular tourist destinations (Cancun, Rivera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit, Cozumel, Los Cabos, Mazatlan and Acapulco) are more than 600 miles from the affected border towns and remain safe for travel.

The situation reminds me of my own experience back in 1992. I was all set to begin a year as an exchange student in Germany. A few weeks before my departure, a series of bombings by German skinheads targeting immigrants made the news on a nightly basis. One would have thought that the entire country was under siege.

Of course when I arrived I found nothing of the sort. Life continued as normal in the country, and the truth was that the bombings were indeed isolated incidents in one or two cities. Things were fine.

In the same vein, tourist travel to Mexico remains safe.

One of the travel suppliers I work with has helped tens of thousands of travelers visit Mexico over the past couple months. They surveyed 900 people between October and March and 97% said they would return to Mexico for another vacation.

While it pays to be cautious and use common sense even in the best of times, there is no reason not to travel to Mexico’s beautiful beaches and Mayan ruins this year.