Mexico no less safe than other places Viewpoint: Kamloops Daily News (excerpt)

• Mon Jan 16 2012 
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Mexico no less safe than other places

Viewpoint: Kamloops Daily News (excerpt)

Mexico is making headlines for the wrong reasons these days, with two Canadians dying there due to violent crime in recent weeks.

B.C. retiree Robin Wood was shot during a robbery attempt in Melaque, a coastal town of 12,000 about four hours south of Puerto Vallarta. Further south, the body of a University of British Columbia student, along with that of her boyfriend, was discovered half buried in a beach in the town of Huatulco.

The stories have sent ripples of fear through Canadians considering travelling to Mexico, wondering if they should cancel or reconsider their planned sun vacation.

But there is danger inherent in every action we take, be it crossing the street, catching the bus, driving from Kamloops to Vancouver, chopping wood or undertaking home renovations.

Statistics Canada reports more than 1.6 million Canucks hit Mexico’s sun-drenched beaches and vistas in 2010, double the number who visited only four years earlier. During those years, 112 Canadians died in accidents, murders, drownings or suicides in Mexico, according to the department of Foreign Affairs. Only 15 of those were murders or deaths under suspicious circumstances.

This averages out into fewer than four Canadians dying an ugly death in Mexico per year, compared to an average of 103 homicides a year in our own province during 2006-2010.

There were two murders in Kamloops alone last year.

Travel can be dangerous, but there’s no need to get scared off for the wrong reasons.

Only individuals can assess their risk tolerance for any activity, including visiting foreign countries. Staying safe while travelling is like anything else — use your common sense, do your research, keep your wits about you and you should be fine.

This goes for Mexico and elsewhere.