Published: 5:52 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Over the course of the next three months, Mexico will play host to a who's who of the world's most influential leaders.
In April, the World Economic Forum on Latin America will take place in Puerto Vallarta. In May, leading tourism industry figures will converge on Cancún for the regional summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council. The culmination of this trifecta will take place in June, when leaders from the world's 20 largest economies will meet in Los Cabos for the annual meeting of the G20.
This hardly sounds like a place to be avoided en masse. Yet, this is precisely what the Texas government has urged its citizens to do in its most recent warning about travel to Mexico, released Tuesday and simply entitled, "DPS Advises Against Spring Break Travel to Mexico."
This warning paints Mexico with a massively broad brush, discounting nuance, logic and facts. Mexico remains Texas' No. 1 trading partner and largest export market — in other words we are "friends" and as such, are disappointed by this travel warning.
In 2011, 22.7 million international tourists visited Mexico (not including those who arrived by cruise line or border crossings), trumping our previous tourism record, set in 2008. Furthermore, Mexico continues to
Lopez-Negrete: Texas' warning about travel to Mexico goes too far
Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, Special Contributor
be the No. 1 destination for American travelers. The overwhelming majority of these tourists enjoyed our beautiful beach resorts, gastronomical delights and world-class cultural offerings without the slightest negative incidents.
How can we not then question the motivation and intention of the language used in this warning from Texas — particularly as it was released in the lead up to one of the busiest tourism seasons on the calendar? This is not the first travel warning the Texas has issued with regard to travel to Mexico and no doubt it will not be the last. In 2011 alone, the Lone Star State issued three such warnings.
We do not at all dispute the fact that there are parts of Mexico that are prone to violent incidents and are not currently safe for travel. The same could be said of Austin, Houston or Dallas, for that matter. But I would never discourage people from visiting these cities in totality — that would simply be unfair and unreasonable.
We also understand the inherent desire of the Texas government to keep its citizens informed and educated — this is indeed the job of government and moreover the job of the Department of Public Safety.
What we do take exception to is the insinuation that the entire length and width of Mexico is riddled with crime. To be clear, the majority of drug-related incidents referenced in the warning emanate from select areas in Mexico.
These are located far from Mexico's iconic tourist destinations of Cancún, Huatulco, Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos, to name but a few. To say that "Mexico" is dangerous is misleading, unwarranted and insulting. To claim that "drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat," even in some resort areas, is hyperbole.
Similar travel warnings recently issued by the U.S. State Department have been crafted with far greater precision and nuance. We are deeply troubled by the latest travel warning issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Travel guidelines must be couched in context; they must be precise and specific. Framing information in this way will be to the benefit of the American traveling public.
Lopez-Negrete is chief operating officer of the Mexico Tourism Board.
