Still having doubts about booking a trip to Mexico? You’re probably not alone.
But here’s why you should go ahead and take that vacation south of the border.
Even Peter Greenberg, (aka the “Travel Detective“) who recently authored the book Don’t Go There, says this is a great time to go to Mexico because it’s a buyer’s market. Greenberg has characterized the press coverage of the swine flu as an “infodemic” and condemned Joe Biden’s overly cautious travel warnings.
Knee-Jerk Reaction. These sentiments were echoed by Colette Baruth, vice president of Mexico & Latin American product for LibGo Travel,who told TravelTrade.com that the initial retreat from going 
to Mexico was simply a “knee-jerk reaction to what people have seen in the media.”
But the effect that the resulting hysteria has had on Mexico’s tourism industry has been all too real. Occupancy rates at some hotels in Cancun are at 17 percent, Eduardo Chaillo, U.S. director of the strategic business unit for the Mexico Tourism Board told Travel Weekly. An important turning point in the crisis, he said, will be when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifts its travel warning.
Mexico City is officially open for business and people are allowed to assemble again in the city’s schools, theaters, movies, and stadiums.
No Cases of Swine Flu. Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said five top beach areas — Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Mazatlan, Zihuatanejo and Cozumel — have not registered any confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, according to the Los Angeles Times.
There are more cases in Swine Flu in the U.S. than in Mexico now, according to this article.
If you still have doubts about visiting Puerto Vallarta, check out this video of all the tourists enjoying themselves there.
Photo by joseloya (Via Creative Commons)
on May 14th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Great article. Not that I don’t believe about the whole swine flu problem, but don’t overlook how many people haven’t been affected!
This is a great time to book to Mexico, wish I could take the time:)
on May 14th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
That’s a good point Marina. Although almost everyone was affected by the hysteria, it was a statistically small segment that actually had the flu.
on May 14th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Have you found an authoritative source for information by city or region? I’m wondering about Oaxaca, San Luis Potosà and some other interior destinations.
I’d been planning a family trip to enroll in a language school. The buyer’s market probably applies to schools as well, but with kids in the picture I’m going to need solid medical reassurances, not just optimistic speculation, however much I want to believe in the good news myself.
on May 16th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Hi Prentiss,
To answer your question, this Web site offers some concrete data http://flutracker.rhizalabs.com/
I have kids too, so I completely understand your hesitation. My wife is more removed from this stuff than I am, so–like you–she’s been more circumspect about the whole situation.
A doctor friend of mine was worried about the swine flu when it first broke out. But a couple of weeks ago he told me that he thought going to Mexico would be fine because the swine flu was less virulent than everyone thought it would be.
It seemed like she was about 90 percent with me for the past few weeks, but still voicing some hesitation. Now that the CDC has lifted its travel advisory, she is completely on board with the trip.
When the swine flu story first broke out, I suspected that the coverage might be overblown. It seemed pretty similar to the coverage of the drug-cartel crisis.
But, I checked myself. I was worried that I was having a “knee-jerk” reaction about bad news from Mexico. Plus I’m not an expert on the viruses etc, and thought about how horrible it would be reading over overly optimistic posts I had written had the swine flu turned into the next great plague. (But I guess I wouldn’t even be around for that).