Destinations: Is Mexico Safe?

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Here's the basic answer: You should help your clients collect the facts about the specific destination within Mexico they're considering, before they make a final decision about their trips!

The latest State Dept. alert (issued on Feb. 20, 2009 - here's a link to it) reports that the current outbreaks in violence have occurred along or near the U.S.-Mexico border. Thousands of U.S. and Mexican citizens cross that land border safely every single day, but drug cartels have ramped up their attacks on each other and on law enforcement officials in those border cities. The government in Mexico has now deployed troops in different regions of the country, and as a result firefights have broken out in northern Mexico (including Chihuahua City, Ciudad Juarez, and Tijuana).

In a few incidents, U.S. citizens traveling in those cities were trapped and prevented from leaving the area temporarily. And, in fact, U.S. government employees assigned to Mexico have been restricted now from non-essential travel to the state of Durango and all parts of the state of Coahuila south of Mexican Highways 22 and 25 and the Alamos River. Also, American tourists have reported being harassed in their vehicles in border areas such as Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tijuana.

That's the negative news.

On the plus side, few violent incidents have been reported in recent months in Mexico's primary tourism resorts, including the most popular cruise ports as well as the cities with large concentrations of all-inclusive resorts.

The bottom line? Many leading travel wholesalers, hotel and resort operators, and cruise lines selling travel to Mexico have reported very few problems in the parts of the country most frequented by travelers who aren't simply driving across the border for day trips.

Having said that, you should keep these tips in mind to help your clients make confident decisions about travel to Mexico:

• Stay updated on the latest Mexico news. Your preferred suppliers can give you updates as you're booking clients to the country, and you should continue checking the link above to track changes in the U.S. State Dept.'s alerts and warnings for Mexico.
  
  
• Urge your clients to purchase travel insurance before their trip. They'll be covered when you recommend policies that cover trip interruptions and delays, thefts, and other trip risks.
  
  
• Recommend that your clients contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate location in Mexico if they have concerns during the trip. You might consider supplying clients with this contact information (available at the U.S. State Dept. site).
  
  
• Tell clients to stay in the main tourist areas. They should travel on main roads during daylight hours (especially the primary toll roads that are typically very safe). They should also leave a copy of their itinerary with a friend or family member who's not traveling with them. If they're carrying cell phones, they should check before they leave home whether their phones will work in Mexico. And, as always, they should avoid traveling alone and refrain from displaying lots of cash, expensive-looking jewelry, and other items that appear valuable.
  
  
• Urge clients to have their hotels call taxis for them, instead of hailing cabs in the street. Many locales such as Mexico City have official taxis ("taxis autorizados") that are your best bet.
  
  
• Before your clients leave home, they should plan to use credit and debit cards as much as possible on the trip (carrying a little cash or traveler's checks as needed), but they need to take their bank's or credit card issuer's international phone numbers along (remember that some toll-free numbers in the U.S.A. don't work abroad). Another tip is scanning passport and travel documents online and emailing them to oneself, so that your clients will have copies in case the originals are lost or stolen.

Again, the best resource for travel agents in these situations can be your preferred suppliers serving Mexico. They're dealing with security questions every day, they usually have employees on the ground in Mexico who report constantly on local conditions, and they will help you stay on top of what's happening in that country that might affect your clients.

Also, here's a link to the U.S. State Dept.'s country-specific Web page for Mexico - another great link you can check often for updates.