By Carol Pucci
Special to The Seattle Times
Hawaii or Mexico? Seattleites love both, but given worries
about Mexico’s drug-gang violence, Hawaii has had the edge. Now that
could be changing.
“We’ve certainly seen an uptick in people buying travel to Mexico’’
said AAA Washington’s Ron Wigand. “It swings back and forth over the
years. People love Hawaii, but as the prices get higher more people
start shifting back to Mexico.’’
Hawaii airfares and hotel rates indeed are rising as the islands attract more visitors from Canada and Asia.
But the increase in Mexico travel could also have something to do
with the U.S. government being more specific when it comes to advice
on international trouble spots.
Its recent, more detailed travel warnings target specific areas to be
avoided, while easing concerns for other areas of a country.
Example: In an overall warning on travel in Mexico — the longest and
most detailed among travel warnings for about three dozen countries
posted at
travel.state.gov — the
U.S. State Department urges travelers to avoid the state of Sinaloa,
home to one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels, except for the
resort city of Mazatlan where it recommends sticking to the Zona Dorada
(the “Golden Zone” of high-rise hotels and beaches) and the city’s
historical center.
And so, after dropping Mazatlan from their itineraries in 2011, some
cruise lines are returning. Holland America and Norwegian added it to
their Mexican Riviera itineraries for later this year and 2014.
“We could have thrown in the towel when the ships left in 2011,’’
Frank Cordova, Sinaloa’s secretary of tourism told Cruise Industry News,
“but instead we stepped up not only to improve our security, but also
with a one billion peso investment in new infrastructure,’’ including a
new lighted, cobblestoned corridor between the port and downtown.
The right advice
The State Department’s decision to replace a giant red light with
some red lights, a few flashing yellows and lots of greens no doubt had
its political and economic motivations. But it was the right thing to
do. Travelers looking for guidance will find plenty of safe choices.
No advisories, for instance, are in effect, for Mexico’s Guanajuato,
an art-filled colonial mountain city known for its art and music. Same
goes with the popular American expatriate enclave of San Miguel de
Allende.
And there are no advisories for Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Cancún, Cozumel, Oaxaca, Mexico City, Guadalajara or Puerto Vallarta.
The situation is more nuanced in the state of Guerrero, where the
government recommends avoiding travel in northwestern and southern areas
except for the resorts of Acapulco, Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa. There, the
advice is to exercise caution and stay within tourist areas. In
Acapulco, visitors are advised to avoid areas farther than two blocks
inland of the Costera Miguel Aleman Boulevard.
Bottom line: For those who care what the U.S. government has to say
about travel, the current warning on Mexico is far more useful than it’s
been in past years.
Could it improve? Sure. One way would be to keep the advice more
current. The last update was in July, and there was no mention of the
tropical storms in September that caused mass evacuations of tourists
from Acapulco.
Check other sources
It’s always wise to poll a variety of sources when planning a trip. Talk to people who live in Mexico or visit frequently.
Read the blogs and forums on websites such as tripadvisor.com.
And check out what other governments are telling their citizens. Canada offers advice on travel to Mexico at travel.gc.ca
(click on “news and warnings”). Australia posts advisories at smartraveller.gov.au.
I’ve traveled somewhere in Mexico annually for the past five or six
years, collecting memories of eating freshly caught fish on the beach;
listening to band concerts in parks; and talking with locals as they
wander through the markets, enjoying a Sunday afternoon with their
families.
I’m confident you will experience the same.
