How does the crime rate and violence in Mexico affect tourism to and in Mexico?

Mexico is a largely populated country with a lot to offer in the tourism sector. The climate varies from a tropical to a desert climate. There are two main types of tourism in Mexico, beach tourism and cultural tourism. Tourists from mainly the United States and Canada visit Mexico, however a variety of tourists are now showing an interest in visiting the country. The indigenous culture of Mexico has been of interest to many tourists. There are over thousands of different archaeological sites with pyramids, temples and palaces, the most popular ones in the state of Yucatan and Chiapas. The different archaeological sites form the Ruta Maya, which goes all the way to Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. The middle class generates a demand for domestic and international tourism, but the majority of Mexicans have insufficient income and so they are not able to travel (Boniface and Cooper, 2012)

Even though Mexico is rich in tourist destinations, there are areas in the country which are dangerous for tourists and even Mexicans. One of the major problems concerning crime, security and tourism is the fact that Mexico is known for its drug trafficking and cartel. This causes certain areas of the country to become dangerous. This drug activity has given tourists a negative mind set towards planning a vacation in Mexico. The increase in tourism is also a reason for the increase in crime rates (Boniface and Cooper, 2012). When tourists choose a tourist destination, safety is an essential component of the attractiveness of the destination. There are different ways to judge the safety of a destination for example by crime rate. However different tourists will evaluate the safety of a destination differently from others.

Many American college students travel to Mexico for spring break, knowing very little of the dangers at their destinations. Violence related to the cartels is increasing, and although tourists are not usually the direct target they can still be caught in the crossfire or otherwise be in danger. Violence has increased nearly every year in Mexico, in 2010 there were 15,273 murders that were connected to prearranged crime. Many Mexicans have lost trust in law enforcement in their country, which is the reason why tourists are uneasy to travel to Mexico. There is no sign that cartel-related violence in Mexico will decrease in the next years. Cartels are dependent on their port facilities, like Cancun, for shipments with cocaine from South America which can make the destination dangerous. However because of the importance of the port, the belief is that drug trafficking organisations try to limit violence due to protection of current infrastructure and also to avoid extra attention (Stratfor, 2013).

Even though there is a lot of crime and violence in Mexico, tourism is still seen to increase in the country. The Mexican government has made its priority to market the tourism industry. It is predicted that inbound tourists arrivals will increase as will outbound tourism (Mexico Tourism Report, 2013).

In conclusion, the country has a lot to offer in the tourism sector, however crime and violence has given it a bad image as tourists are less likely to travel to a dangerous destination. However, tourist arrivals are still predicted to rise in the near future as more and more tourists are becoming aware of the areas that are dangerous. So even though Mexico has a high level of crime and violence, Mexican tourism is still popular and is increasing in popularity for the future.


References
Boniface, B. and Cooper, C. (2012). The Geography of Travel and Tourism. 6th ed. Oxon: Routledge. 537-541.

Mexico Tourism Report. (2013). MEXICO TOURISM REPORT: INCLUDES 5-YEAR FORECASTS TO 2017. Mexico Tourism Report. 3 (3), 1-61.

Stratfor. (2013). Spring Break in Mexico 2013: Security Risks and Travel Tips Read more: Spring Break in Mexico 2013: Security Risks and Travel Tips. Available: http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/spring-break-mexico-2013-security-risks-and-travel-tips. Last accessed 26th April 2014.

I have chosen to comment on this paper because the title of the discussion it’s really interesting as I used to live in Mexico, fall in Love in this country and therefore topic is close to my heart. The author of this paper use good reference list and add important information, what make the topic even more interesting.

I strongly agree that Mexico is a largely populated country with a lot to offer in the tourism sector, and that there are main two types of tourism, beach one and the cultural one, because there are a lot of beach destinations as also thousands of archeological sides. However, a part of the good aspects of the Mexico, there are many issues in the country which make tourists and also Mexican dangerous place to live and visit.

Mexico seems to be the most dangerous place in the world. Before I went to Mexico I heard about this country many negative opinions and to be honest I was really afraid to go there. To my luck I lived in the most ‘safety ‘part in Mexico what made me feels good. However, from day to day I was learning more and more about this country. Once I experience something what didn’t let me to feel that safety anymore. Assert, once as the’ foreign tourist ‘ I got lost and I asked Police for the help, of course they helped me but in exchange for a help, they wanted to have’ sex ‘with me. There were very serious and at this time I was really afraid that they can do something bad too me, notwithstanding somehow I found the output of the situation. Finally, this situation remained me, why Mexico is considered as the dangerous country.

Returning to the author research, one of the major problems concerning the crime, security and tourism is fact that Mexico is known for a drug trafficking, as also very important but not mentioned in the paper, for selling weapons. Unfortunately, fact is that in the country weapon is easily available for everyone. (A report by mayors against illegal guns, 2010) In the country, police ignoring the violence and victims are trying to solve problems by them self. Therefore, crime and violence give a bad imagine on the destination and there is still some number of tourism who are afraid of travel there.
However, other number of tourist increase every year because though crime and violence, Mexico is beautiful country, with a lot of traditions, tasty food and incredible views, which is worth to see.

Overall, the conference paper has a good arguments and it shows a understating of how does the crime rate and violence affect tourism in the Mexico. However, some improvements could be made by adding to the paper, information about selling a weapons or mention about corruption what contribute to the crime and tourism problems.

Reference
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A Report by mayors against illegal guns (2010) The movement of illegal Guns across the U.S-Mexico Border [online] Available from: http://www.tracetheguns.org/Issue_Brief_Mexico_2010.pdf [Accessed on: 09.05.2014]

This paper concentrates on some really important factors that make Mexico an important tourist destination, but why it still is threatened by the drug related violence. I chose to comment on this paper because the topic is really similar to mine. This paper focuses on how crime rate and violence affect tourism in Mexico.

The author begins by describing how this largely populated country has a lot to offer for tourists due to the variety of climate and many types of tourism. We both have noted that especially Americans tend to travel to the country (Mexico Country Report, 2013).

Like the author notes, despite having a great variety of tourist attractions, Mexico has regions that have been considered really dangerous. Usually the violence is between the drug cartels and the police, and tourists are not directly targeted. However, like the author clarifies, they can still get caught in the crossfire, like the fact that 71 American tourists were murdered in 2012 in Mexico shows (Sipse, 2014).

The author notes that tourists choose carefully their destinations and if they are even a little afraid, they do not proceed with their plans. Like Cothran and Cothran (1998) note, Americans have many alternatives for “sun, sea and sand” and do not depend entirely on Mexico.

While the main reasons for violence and insecurity are the drug trafficking and cartels, another significant factor that promotes drug trafficking and continues violence is corruption. For example, Osac (2013) notes, that the reason why Mexico has not been able to stop the drug trafficking is that many police officers have collaborated with the cartels.

Like the author notes, Mexico has a high potential in terms of tourism but still struggles with organised crime and drug trafficking. This paper describes really well Mexico’s situation as a tourist destination. It describes also creditably how this country full of interesting attractions suffers from insecurity.


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References:

Cothran D. & Cothran C. (1998). Promise or political risk for Mexican tourism. Annals of Tourism Research [e-journal] 25 (2): 477-497 Available at: http://ac.els-cdn.com.proxy.library.lincoln.ac.uk/S016073839700100X/1-s2.0-S016073839700100X-main.pdf?_tid=37398b42-ad2f-11e3-82f1-00000aab0f27&acdnat=1394990585_8bf2a77d2d4eb1070226215a72508311 [Accessed 16 March 2014].

Mexico Country Report (2013) [online] Available at: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6b77ebfb-3547-4d05-88e3-6ee720129fa1%40sessionmgr112&vid=5&hid=102 [Accessed 17 March 2014].

Osac (2013). Mexico 2013 Crime and Safety Report: Tijuana. [online] Available at: https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=14139 [Accessed 16 March 2014].

Sipse (2014). Por violencia, EU emite alerta para no visitor México [online] Available at: http://sipse.com/mexico/por-violencia-eu-emite-alerta-para-no-visitar-mexico-70300.html [Accessed 16 March 2014].