Spring Breakers Urged to Exercise Caution in Mexico

With spring break season approaching, several colleges warned students headed for Mexico to exercise caution. But most stopped short of advising them to cancel their trips. “We’re not telling students not to go,” said Anne Lawing, dean of students for the University of New Hampshire in a recent story in a local newspaper . “We sent out a letter with safety tips for spring break that included a link to the state department, where they can keep track of what’s happening in Mexico. We are certainly paying attention to this,” she added.

A similar approach was taken by Penn State, Notre Dame, the University of Colorado and the University at Buffalo. Each of these schools said they would call students’ attention to the travel warning issued Feb. 20 by the State Department, the Associated Press reported.

One exception is the University of Arizona, where the dean of students sent an e-mail strongly advising against travel to Mexico, according Arizona’s Fox 11 News. But it appears that many students are not heeding the warning. In the same story, a travel agent in Tucson says that the number of trips he has booked to Mexico “seems to be about the way that is has been previous years.” The travel agent noted that the most recent State Department advisory does not apply to all of Mexico. “Tourism to Cozumel, Cancun and all the other big resort areas is certainly not in any way shape or form affected by any sort of advisories,” he said.

As in 2008, approximately 30,000 travelers are expected to visit the Cancun area this year, Quintana Roo’s Tourism Office said in this recent story for MSNBC.

Photo by joseloya (Via Creative Commons)