Travel Experts Talk about Safety in Mexico

Via Journey Mexico, visit their post to read opinions about the safety in Mexico straight from the mouth of travel experts Peter Greenberg and Robert Reid (Lonely Planet's US travel editor).

Photo source: journeymexico.com

Via Journey Mexico, "Is it Safe to Travel to Mexico?"

It always helps to frame statistics in a visual way for people to digest. Journey Mexico speaks to the safety in Mexico and releases a visual table that compares the safety of 15 popular cities in Mexico to the relative danger of a road accident in the US. Take a look!

Mexico Vacation Spots Far From Violence

CNN recently interviewed one of Mexico's top tourism officials about the safety of visiting Mexico. Mexico Tourism Board's Chief Operating Officer Rodolfo Lopez Negrete was in the US to encourage travelers to visit Mexican destinations. Click the link to read more about Mexico's "untold story" and statistics on number of travelers making their way safely through Mexico.

"CNN: But Mr. Lopez, the main problem in Acapulco is not necessarily infrastructure, but the violence. What are the Mexican government and the Tourism Board doing to solve this problem?
Lopez: Mexico is a very large country. When you take into account the distance between Ciudad Juarez [the most violent city in Mexico] and Cancun, you're talking about 1,400 miles of distance. Puerto Vallarta is 1,000 miles away and Los Cabos about 1,600 miles away. That is equivalent to the distance between New York and Houston or New York and Dallas."

Picture credit: CNN

Video: Safety in Mexico from a Resident and Traveler

As a resident of Mexico and someone who travels between the US and Mexico frequently, Luis Aberto gives his perspective on safety in Mexico:

It is Safe to Travel to Mexico

While news of violence resulting from the drug war is often reported by mainstream American media, the truth is that crime rates in Ohio are higher than those of U.S. border cities. In addition to this, a recent blog post from Gadling notes quotes Gloria Guevara, Mexico's secretary of tourism, as saying:

"We do have a challenge, but Mexico has the equivalent of 2,500 counties. Eighty of those are the ones having the challenge. That's less than 4 percent. What I tell the travelers is they need to get a map. It would be very helpful for them to understand what cities are involved. They might have trouble in Juarez; 2,000 miles from there is totally safe. It's like in the U.S.: If there is an issue in L.A., does that mean that you don't go to New York? Or if there is an issue in Las Vegas, do you not go to Chicago?"

Moreover, WatchmanReport had this to say:

"You would think, by the way the mainstream media over blows these stories that all of Mexico is involved a violent, drug crazed killing spree, when in reality it's only occurring in a few cities along the border in a country twice as large as the state of Texas. This would be like making the ridiculous assessment that crime in New York or Detroit is an example of crime in all of America.

When put into perspectives like these, it's evident that travelers should exercise the same cautions as when traveling elsewhere, but that they should not fear traveling to Mexico.