BajaNomad

Mexico: getaway or stay away?

BajaNews - 5-16-2010 at 09:31 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05...

Sunday, May 16, 2010

To get a grasp of the situation in some of the hardest-hit [travel] destinations, we checked in with security experts from iJet Intelligent Risk Systems, local tourism offices and the U.S. State Department. Here's the latest scoop.

Despite unsavory reports out of Mexico, Samuel Logan, iJet's regional manager for the Americas, says that major tourist areas are safe, including Acapulco, Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula and, yes, even Tijuana. "Since the end of February, the safety in Tijuana has improved a lot," he says, adding that tourists are not on drug cartels' "hit list," though he warns that "collateral damage" can occur.

The State Department bolsters confidence in tourist areas. In a travel warning issued last week, the agency said that Mexico's resort areas and tourist destinations do not witness the kind of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and along major drug trafficking routes.

But skip a July 4 holiday to Mexico. That's when many states are holding elections, and protests could arise. Places to avoid: Baja California, Oaxaca City and the Yucatan Peninsula.