Stranded motorists: police to the rescue

Mexico's police: good apples and bad.

Mexico News Daily | Friday, January 2, 2015

Stories about Mexico’s police aren’t all bad.

A Canadian couple traveling through Mexico in their RV had a mechanical problem near Ciudad Obregón yesterday: a spring broke. But they weren’t stuck for long.

Murray Ruehlen of Campbell River, B.C., said the first help arrived in the form of a young man, who was followed a couple of minutes later by a police vehicle.

One officer got on his cell phone to call a mechanic. Ten minutes later and the mechanic arrives, but he’s not just any mechanic: he works for the police department.
 

Ruehlen had a spare spring, tools and a jack on hand so the mechanic and the young man had the broken spring replaced within an hour. Meanwhile, the police remained on the scene with emergency lights flashing for protection.

The Canadian travelers tipped the two men who did the work and gave the two police officers chocolates and candy for their children — they wouldn’t accept cash.

“Where else but in Mexico!” wrote Ruehlen in a post describing the experience on the page of the Facebook group, On the Road in Mexico.

Mexico News Daily

 

- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/stranded-motorists-police-rescue/#sthash.R8HJEo23.dpuf

Mexico welcomed 10.1% more foreign visitors

tourism-review.com

Date 22.12.2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The number of foreign visitors in Mexico increased by 10.1% between January and October this year, with the total amount of visitors reaching 10.5 million tourists during the period.

The Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) reported in a statement that according to the National Migration Institute (INM), this figure exceeds the 9.6 million international visitors recorded during the same period in 2013.

The foreign exchange earnings from international visitors showed a positive development, reaching $13.34 billion in the tenth month of this year, according to the Bank of Mexico (Banxico). All this, the institution explained, is equivalent to 16.7% more than the $11.254 billion recorded during the same period last year.

In October, there was an inflow of $1.96 billion, $818 million of which came from tourists who came by air, which is an increase of 13.0% over October 2013. The central bank said that the average expenditure of travellers who came by air was $949.1, a figure that is 10.1% higher than the figure for January to October the previous year. In the first 10 months of 2014, tourist arrivals reached 23.2 million, a figure that is 18.6 % higher than arrivals in the country in the same period in 2013.

According to the Migration Policy Unit (PSU) of the Ministry of the Interior (Segob), the main source of tourists coming to Mexico is the United States, with 5.9 million visitors between January and October. They are followed by Canadian visitors with 1.3 million and travellers from the UK with 389,000.

As for tourists coming from emerging economies, the Tourism Ministry noted that tourist arrivals from Colombia increased by 24.7%, China by 24.4%, Venezuela by 9.1%, while for Brazil there was a 13.7% increase over the period January-October 2013.

Read more at http://www.tourism-review.com/mexico-reported-101-more-foreign-visitors-news4378#6eBV0UzAdCSBqszq.99

Regardless of news Reports, many Canadians Travel to “Tourist-friendly” Mexico

theyucatantimes.com

 

It’s that time of year when Canadians book our annual trip to Mexico and this is what we hear: Why are you going to Mexico? Why not somewhere safe? We worry about you. Is it safe where you’re going?

Regardless of news reports, many Canadians still travel to tourist-friendly resorts like Cancun or Yucatán, where they enjoy a warm, safe holiday free from the grey, wet Vancouver weather.

Other smart sun-seeking Canadians — often retired or semi-retired baby boomers — faithfully return to Mexico every year, decade after decade, to idyllic surroundings that are not all-inclusives.

There are a number of reasons why we choose to go when the media says it’s dangerous.

Here’s one: A friend and her family recently returned from a trip to Hawaii for a family wedding. She freely admits that Hawaii is idyllic, but they couldn’t figure out what was missing. After they arrived home it struck them — there were no Mexicans!

Aside from the dependable temperature, blue sky and sunshine from November through April, the Mexicans seduce us with their friendly, fun-loving family-centered culture, and those same people desperately need our tourist dollars. It’s sad that fear, caused by careful documentation by the media, makes visitors shy away.

Our favourite place is Zihuatanejo, a friendly fishing town nestled in a protected bay, next door to the purpose-built resort of Ixtapa (on the West Coast, south of Puerto Vallarta and north of Acapulco). Since its discovery in the 1970s, tourism is more important to Zihua’s local economy now than fishing.

Each year we return to a small Mexican hotel with a colourful market within walking distance where the locals shop for everything from savoury barbecued pork and warm tortillas, fresh prawns, mahi-mahi and mole sauce, to beef tenderloin, household goods, baking, handbags, trinkets and clothing.

Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico

We cook in or walk about town in the evening to enjoy one of many good restaurants. We may stroll the large public arts-and-crafts market or watch a basketball game in the town centre, or sip lattes before hitting the beach for a personally crafted margarita nightcap.

During our stay, it’s handy to fly out of the Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa airport to explore Mexico City (a 45-minute flight away) for a few days, or maybe take a five-hour bus ride north to the charming historical mountain town of Patzcuaro (founded in the early 1300s) with its Spanish colonial architecture, artisans’ studios and good shopping.

Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico

Earlier this year, we headed to the airport to pick up some intrepid relatives arriving from bitterly cold Ottawa. They joined us in Zihua based solely on our description and photos included in our annual Christmas letter.

They had read about the dangers of travel in Mexico, but on our recommendation, they discovered it only takes a little forethought and common sense to stay perfectly safe in most Mexican towns and resorts.

We frequently read about all the homicides in the Lower Mainland Vancouver, but we still choose to live here. Given the news stories, Vancouverites should be scared to go out at night, but common sense tells us we are safe. It’s the same in many places in Mexico.

Original Story:

It’s fun, warm and safe on Mexico’s Pacific Coast

Common sense prevails

BY DIANNE LONGSON, SPECIAL TO THE SUN

Source: The Vancouver Sun

AAA AZ sees increase in travel to Mexico, offers travel tips

tusconnewsnow.com                                                                    Mar 25, 2014 7:41 AM

By Kevin Adger

                                                                                                                                                                   TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -

Mexico may be making a comeback as the place to go for vacations, despite some recent troubles for the region, according to AAA Arizona. 

AAA Arizona has said it has seen an increase in travelers in the state planning trips south of the border.  AAA officials say after being plagued by cartel violence and a struggling economy - Mexico as a vacation destination is making a comeback.

Cruise traffic is especially high this time of year, said AAA Arizona, due to the country's proximity, flexibility and affordability for that form of travel.

AAA is offering a few tips for travelers to remember when they are making plans to vacation south of the border -

Use recommended crossings - U.S. citizens visiting Puerto Penasco should use the Lukeville, AZ/Sonoyta, Sonora border crossing and travel only during daylight hours.

Carry a passport - citizens are required to have a passport to gain re-entry into the U.S.

Travel smart - Stay with your traveling party at all times, do not share your itinerary and do no travel with valuables and expensive jewelry. 

Be insured - U.S. auto insurance is not valid in Mexico; insurance can be purchased at AZ.AAA.com/insurance/mexico.