MEXICO CITY, Mexico
The Mexico Tourism Board responded swiftly to the new travel advisory system that was announced on Wednesday, Jan. 10, by the U.S. Department of State, both applauding and challenging the revisions.
Following is the statement that was issued by the Mexico Tourism Board on Jan. 10, in its entirety.
“The U.S. Department of State today confirmed that major international tourism destinations in Mexico are safe. According to the updated travel advisory for Mexico and specific mentions for Mexican states and major cities, Mexico’s major international tourist destinations have been explicitly listed as having no travel restrictions or they exist in states where there are no special travel advisories for tourists.
“While we recognize the updated travel advisory system has improved in terms of its organization and simplicity, we still believe there is room for further future improvement.
"Our main concern comes from the fact that the crime, violence and other statistics used are those for a country overall, not related to the number of incidents that impact foreign visitors. Additionally, the U.S. Department of State continues to issue a travel advisory for the U.S. applying the same criteria and system, which would inform and assist both foreigners and domestic travelers who intend to travel within the U.S.
“It is these kinds of facts and context which are relevant to tourists that we believe are still missing and are important to keep in mind when evaluating this and other travel advisories. Safety, including from acts of violence or even terrorism, is an issue faced by many of the world’s major capitals and countries often go through cycles of increasing or decreasing crime or violence, but these general statistics do not necessarily reflect the specific safety situation for international tourists.
“As it pertains to this updated travel advisory for Mexico, the U.S. Department of State advises to ‘Reconsider Travel’ to select Mexican states, but then exempts the tourist destinations within those states. This exception to tourism destinations highlights the fact that the vast majority of crimes in Mexico do not occur in areas frequented by international tourists. And even in the rare cases of crime within tourist areas, incidents involving international tourists are incredibly rare.
“The truth is very simple: the vast majority of Mexico is safe for tourists.
“We are pleased to highlight again that the updated U.S. Department of State travel advisory for Mexico confirms that all of Mexico’s major international tourist destinations are safe.
“This includes confirming that the following states, which are home to Mexico’s largest and most popular international tourism destinations, have no travel restrictions:
“Quintana Roo, Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Yucatán, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla, Guanajuato, Baja California, Querétaro, Campeche, Veracruz, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, Aguascalientes and Hidalgo.
“And within these select states, the following tourism destinations also have … no travel restrictions:
- Sinaloa: Mazatlán (Zona Dorada, historic town center), Los Mochis, Port Topolobampo.
- Jalisco: Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Chapala, Ajijic.
- Nayarit: Riviera Nayarit including Punta Mita, Nuevo Vallarta, Santa Maria del Oro, Xalisco.
- Colima: Manzanillo.
- Michoacán: Morelia and Lazaro Cardenas (both by air or federal road 15D).
- Coahuila: Piedras Negras, Acuna City.
“Mexico’s tourism industry and the Mexico Tourism Board [are] committed to working with all organizations involved to ensure accurate information is delivered in a consistent and transparent manner.”
