Despite cartel violence, tourists still headed to Mexico for spring break, some travel agents say
Travel advisor Peter Carideo isn’t shying away from recommending Mexico as a spring break destination, even after cartel-related violence caused chaos in a tourist-heavy city there less than two weeks ago.
“Hands down, [clients are still] going to Mexico,” said Carideo, an advisor with CRC Travel who works mostly with travelers from the Midwest. “Initially, there was a rash of phone calls within a two-day period of cancel, cancel, cancel, but they were for later in the month.”
“We really haven’t seen the rash of cancellations that I think they were projecting, so, yes, people are going to Mexico. Maybe not as much to Puerto Vallarta, but [to] Cabo, Cancun,” Carideo said.
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico issued a spring break travel notice this week, warning travelers that “risks of crime and kidnapping remain” despite the violence in the state of Jalisco having ended more than a week ago.
The unrest in Puerto Vallarta came after the Mexican Army on Feb. 22 killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.” The U.S. issued a shelter-in-place order for residents there, while other lockdowns were ordered for at least two days.
The U.S. State Department warns against traveling to six Mexican states. Travelers are urged to reconsider trips to seven other states, while most remaining states are under an “exercise increased caution” advisory. The states of Yucatán and Campeche are listed as “exercise normal precautions.”
Airlines resumed normal operations at the Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta airports within a couple days of Oseguera Cervantes’s killing.
Michael Baney, senior intelligence manager for Crisis24, a travel risk management agency, said while cartel infighting is likely to continue after the cartel leader’s death, tourists aren’t the target of the violence.
“An important note is that throughout this recent violence, we have not seen cartel fighters deliberately targeting foreigners, and they are unlikely to do so in the future,” Baney said in a statement.
“For spring break travelers, the key takeaway is simple: cartel violence is real, but it’s not directed at foreigners. By staying aware of your surroundings and avoiding hotspots, you can significantly reduce your risk,” Baney continued.
Less than a week after Oseguera Cervantes was killed, the U.S. and Israel strike on Iran brought retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, causing mass uncertainty in the region.
Stephen Scott, a travel advisor with Global Travel Collection, said finding new destinations for clients in the last two weeks has been like playing a game of “Whac-a-Mole.”
“It seems like every week we have something new coming at us as advisors,” said Scott, who is based in Chicago and has about half his clientele living in the Chicago area.
The violence in Jalisco mostly prompted uncertainty for his clients, who raised questions about the timing of their trips and the types of tours they planned. Understanding Mexico’s geography has been another common question from travelers, he said.
The majority of people who had already booked trips to Mexico still have gone, Scott said.
“People are continuing to travel to Mexico, they are continuing to have great vacations and people are down there right now having an amazing time,” Scott said.
“The guests that we’ve been working on other trips that they have not booked yet, those have been the people that have been actually changing their trips either altogether or have been adjusting the mode of travel,” Scott said.
He advised travelers to areas of Mexico under certain advisories to plan ahead. Scott recommends pre-booking tours with reputable companies with knowledge of the surrounding areas, rather than choosing a tour guide upon arrival.