Travel Advisory for Mexico. Is this country safe for tourists or should be boycott it?

Question

The Canadian and American Governments should issue travel warnings to Mexico not just adviseries. It is obvious that the police are corrupt and probably help commit the crimes. They try to cover them up. How can a person show so much blunt force trauma to different parts of his body and be on life support falling from a second floor balcony? We need to stop giving our tourist dollars to Mexico until they correct this corruption and attack on tourists.

Princess for someone who claims to be educated you aren't up to date on your current events. And you are the one that is crapped out in your thinking.

Yes we peaceful Canadians are getting attacked because we are tourists. I guess others wouldn't care because they are used to violence and it is part of their culture maybe?

Put yourself in the position of these people who have been assaulted or had family of friends murdered there then tell me what you think. John Mitchell you are way to bias.

Answer 1

I don't know how many Canadians are answering. Judging by some of the answers only me and one other. It seems that we cannucks are hearing about assaults and murders of our countrymen in Mexico. They go as tourists and come back either in robbed, in casts or in caskets. And 3 of the murders are unsolved and the latest attack as you said is just a ploy to not scare tourists. I have travelled to the Caribbean but I have yet to go to Mexico until the corrupt and inefficiency of the police is corrected.

Answer 2

What travellers need to realize is that when they travel to a foreign country, such as Mexico, they need to act appropriately - read: differently. For example, going clubbing alone, or with one other friend, is probably not a good idea; neither is walking the streets at night. Foreign countries are not like Canada and they have different rules that should be followed. People are killed everyday all over the world. In fact, people have been stabbed and shot outside of night clubs where I live, right here in Vancouver. I would presume that more people are killed in the United States everyday than Mexico so why would we issue a travel advisory about Mexico? What happened was a terrible tragedy, but it doesn't mean that Canadians should stop travelling to Mexico. I wish this whole world wasn't brainwashed on a daily basis with fearmongering, it's truly sad.

Answer 3

Nothing will be done... it's only a handful of tourist compared to the millions that go and nothing happens to them. Mexico nor Cancun will get boycott... you hear about the Aruba case? Tourism is still going hard and strong...

If the local officials in your community rarely take a murder seriously, what makes you think that the international counterparts will take it any more serious? There is so much corruption everywhere. Bottom line, stay cautious and alert of your surroundings WHEREVER you are.

Sorry to break it down to you, but as unfortunate that it is and as bad as it sounds, it's reality. Go somewhere else where you feel safe and then stop going there when you start feeling unsafe, that's the only way around all this.

Answer 4

Gosh, you can't generalize or stereotype a Country because of some unfortunate bad cases. What Country in the World has every one of its cities completely safe and perfect. It is true Mexico city is an overpopulated city with many problems and even Mexican citizens warn you about the risks and dangers, but you can go to other places in Mexico and be completely safe. Take Cancun for instance and even Yucatan that ranks high in safety. On the other hand there is also the fear many people have about schools in the USA where shootings have taken place, the most recent one was in Virginia Tech. Bad things happened all over the world and you can't put the blame in just one Country.

Answer 5

I am Canadian and have been to Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Mexico City, Tijuana, and Rosarito Beach (Baja California). To be honest, I have found the people and even the police to be exceptionally accomodating and helpful on every visit. I also have relatives who own a 3 week timeshare in Playa del Carmen and have had nothing but wonderful experiences.

Yet, when you hear about suspicious deaths like those of the Ianeros (sp?) and now Jeff Toews (brain dead)...it makes you wonder whether or not there might be a vendetta of some kind out there...I mean we know that there is a lot of anti-government sentiment among the people and the drug cartels (who seem to be behind some pretty gruesome killings of Mexican officials) that operate in the country. And since Mexico's economy is based largely on tourism, what better way to hurt the government than to attack its main source of revenue - the tourists (as ETA attempted to do in Spain). Now, in addition to these three murders (although the Toew's investigation is still in the early stages) I have also heard of a number of Americans who were kidnapped in taxis, beaten within an inch of death, robbed, and abandoned in remote areas. This is eerily similar to what is happening in parts of Columbia, Peru, and Chile for which the Canadian and U.S. governments have issued travel advisories...perhaps the government needs a specific quota of deaths and kidnappings to warrant a travel advisory? I don't know...but I would really like some answers on these three deaths as they seem very out of character from my experiences in Mexico.

Answer 6

I have been working in the automotive industry in Hermosillo, Sonora for over 2 years. I have seen it all. Recently there is a rash of police killigs by the drug gangs.

I have been to San Carlos and Mazatlan for holidays & in my opinion, Mexico is a little lawless but overall feel it is safe for travel but you have to be smart.

I mean, if you are in Mexico City, be careful which taxis you take and make sure, you travel very limited at night. I have nothing against Mexicans and Mexico.

As I have travelled throughout the world, I have noticed that some of the worst spots I have seen are places like South Chicago and Detroit (of course I have yet to visit Rwanda or Zimbabwe).

So yes Mexico is dangerous but so are certain spots in the US.

Answer 7

I have traveled Mexico extensively and will tell you that Mexico City and cities along the border such as Juarez and Tijuana are of great concern. However, resort cities are much different. The people in the resort areas have much more money than the generally population and are less likely to be corrupt. The resort areas are very safe and cater to tourist. I would feel safe walking the streets of Cancun at 1 am with my 3 and 5 year old kids.

On the other hand, I wouldn't walk down a street in Mexico City or Juarez while being guarded by a Swat team at any time of day.

Answer 8

No matter what you think of Mexico, tourist dollars will stilll pour in. Its a great place to visit. Corruption cannot be stopped with a sweep of the hand. There is always some risk for one traveling outside one's own country, it is part of the excitement of the learning process. I'd like to point out there are many Canadians living in Mexico some of whom are engaged in the business of tourism and would greatly resent your rant, its bad for business.

Answer 9

I think people need to grow up and realize that no matter where they go in the WORLD, they need to be cautious. I have been to Mexico city and will continue to go back. As long as one is using some common sense, usually things will be fine. That doesn't mean nothing is going to happen to tourists there or in another part of the world, but there is a saying, sometimes its true, that one is at the wrong place, at the wrong time. If you don't want to go to Mexico, then good for you. But don't think that other people are not going to travel there or to other places in this world. Perhaps you should read about what the new president of Mexico is doing to improve the country, that should enlighten you a bit. As his first act, he lowered his pay.

Answer 10

Is it safe? Yes. Why? Simple math. How many tourists go to Mexico per year vs. How many get robbed, killed, etc?

What is the ratio? Maybe 1%?

My advice - Go and do your own personal boycott of Mexico. Stay here nice and comfy, dumb and happy and keep your hate at home. I'm pretty sure the mexicans won't miss you too much.