Is Mexico safe for spring break?

By Kitty Bean Yancey, USA TODAY

That's the 64,000 peso question these days, as debate rages.

On the one hand, the Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a warning discouraging students from going to Mexico for spring break because of safety issues.

On the other, Mexican officials say that tourism there increased last year, despite drug-cartel violence and the world's economic woes.

Big travel packager Funjet Vacations just announced that "despite a continued stream of negative media coverage, over 253,000 travelers visited Mexico from Texas in December and 210,000 in January compared to 224,000 and 196,000 in the previous year, respectively.

"The number of people flying out of Texas cities into Mexico is up 12% from last year, and December saw the most travelers for that month in a decade," said Mike Going, president of Funjet Vacations. "Year after year Mexico remains a top travel destination for both Funjet Vacations and the Texas market and we are optimistic about the forecast for 2011."

Funjet has some spring break deals in Mexico for under $600 for three nights, including all meals, booze and airfare.

Meanwhile, the Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau is fighting back by saying that comparing the Caribbean's No. 1 resort destination to other parts of the country as far as safety goes is wrong. It says Cancun welcomed about 5.9 million international visitors, an increase of more than 400,000 over 2009. It also says it has camera surveillance in tourist areas, increased security, more lifeguards and a special call center for tourists.

The U.S. State Department does have a travel warning in place for Mexico, mainly emphasizing danger in border towns and cities such as Monterrey. The warning says, in part: "Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes. Nevertheless, crime and violence are serious problems. While most victims of violence are Mexican citizens associated with criminal activity, the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens as well."

I have just landed in Cancun and noted more security and tourist ambassadors. So far, I have yet to hear of serious incidents involving spring-break vacationers this year. Have any readers experienced safe trips or disturbing incidents in Mexico? Please share. I will be writing more about this, and also would like to know your feelings about travel to Mexico.

Posted Mar 9 2011 3:48AM

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