Monthly Archives: November 2010

Canadians have a “sophisticated” understanding of Mexico as a tourist destination, and are heading there in droves.  It is currently the second most important tourist market for Mexico, and in past years has made up 8.8% of tourists visiting Mexico; in 2010 they will represent 14.6 %.  According to Mexican government figures, from 2005 to 2009, the number of Canadian tourist visits has doubled, reaching 1,222,739 visits.  It’s expected that this year the record will be exceeded.  In contrast, the U.S. has fallen this year from 62.9 % of the market to 61 %.

The Globe and Mail points out that as a NAFTA trading partner, Canada has an interest in Mexico’s success, both security-wise, and economically.  And although the Canadian government has issued a travel advisory for Mexico, Canadian tourists

have been undeterred, recognizing that most of the violence is confined to a handful of states, particularly those bordering the United States. Indeed, if you look at the total number of Canadian visitors, on a per capita basis, more Canadians were killed in China and Thailand in 2007, than in Mexico, according to figures provided by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Many Mexican states have murder rates at or below the rate in the U.S., and The Economist reported recently that, based on official government figures, “Yucatán, where tourists snorkel with whale sharks, sees fewer killings per person than Canada.”

Read the full article here.

From his personal blog, California-native Dan Adams reports back from a recent 3 day journey – from Palm Springs to his home in Puerta Vallarta.  Adams recounts the 1471.2  mile journey: “Everywhere we went on this trip, and now that we are back home, we encountered life as we have known it for years in Mexico. People living their lives without fear.”  During his 24 hours and 50 minutes on the road, he witnessed a heavy presence of police – “Federales” – patrolling the highways, citing that there were nearly as many patrol cars as there were passenger vehicles.  Other than patrol cars and cargo trucks, the trip was smooth sailing and free of incident.

A former evening news broadcaster in the Sacramento, Calif. area, Adams is now retired and living in Puerta Vallarta.  His insightful reflections about his experience as a news reporter and the current sensationalistic news cycle of violence in Mexico, gives the 24-cycle news-viewer some great food for thought.

When I was a reporter and was dispatched to a “disaster” scene, we would try to find the best visual example of that particular disaster and interview those people hardest hit by it. If a fire swept through 100 homes in San Diego, we would show street after street of burned out structures with only chimneys standing and talk with those left homeless. Naturally, we didn’t show that the 100 homes lost represented a little tiny fraction of all the homes in San Diego. Still, the perception was that all of San Diego was on fire and the entire town was devastated. The same is true of what is happening in Mexico. Yes, there is the drug violence, and yes there are some towns and neighborhoods that are best to avoid. But like that little tiny fraction of the homes in San Diego that burned, the drug wars here are impacting a little tiny fraction of a country that remains among the most hospitable for Americans.

After a long journey back, Adams ends his post with the sentiment of many a traveler – “And I am glad to be home.”  Read the full article here.