Should Canadians write off Mexico as a travel destination?

Published January 15, 2023

By Andrea Mandel-Campbell

There’s always a dose of mayhem associated with holiday travel — bad weather, cancelled flights — but some Canadians are, understandably, freaked about the violent scenes coming out of Sinaloa Mexico, which look more like an episode from “Narcos,” not a fun time in a warm, welcoming climate.

While Mexico has always had a bit of an edge, for some, this feels different.

Recently, the federal government issued a warning to Canadians there “to shelter in place,” as bullets flew and vehicles burned. Online commentary describing the news coverage as “terrifying,” and this has prompted some travellers to scratch Mexico off their bucket list.

With some 3.7 million Canadians travelling to Mexico every year, according to 2019 statistics — Canada is the second largest source of Mexican tourism after the U.S. — and with many having second homes and time shares in places such as Acapulco, Playa del Carmen and San Miguel de Allende, this is a big deal for both countries.

So has the time come to write off Mexico?

How should we choose the places we visit?

Travel is one of the most important investment decisions that we make. Not only do we work all year to save up for that trip, but it’s a precious time we have put aside to step out of our day-to-day to experience something entirely different.

We don’t buy a house or car without thinking it through and doing our due diligence. Travel is no different — yes it may only last a week — but we dine out on those memories for years.

I was in Mexico over the holidays, myself. Having just launched a new sustainable adventure travel company, karibu adventures, in December, I took my family on a scouting trip to one of the most remote parts of the country, Chiapas, on the southern border with Guatemala.

I know Mexico well, having been a correspondent for the Financial Times in Mexico City for several years, and Chiapas has a lot to offer: an array of untouched jungles; cloud forests and amazing wildlife, often stewarded by local communities and Indigenous groups; jungle-shrouded Mayan ruins; “magical towns”; and beautiful handicrafts.

You may recall Chiapas made the headlines 20 years ago when balaclava-clad Subcomandante Marcos and his Zapatista rebels emerged from the jungle to demand greater rights for the largely Indigenous population. Today, the Zapatistas are confined to dolls sold in the craft markets, the roads have improved (although the number of speed bumps is ludicrous) and a new “Mayan train” is being built to connect the more touristed Yucatan peninsula to the Palenque ruins in Chiapas.

While I may be pretty comfortable travelling in Mexico, there are parts of the country I studiously avoid, including Sinaloa. It has been the redoubt of the Sinaloa cartel for decades, and what happened over the holidays is not new.

In other words, Mexico is a big, diverse country and we do it, and other countries, a disservice to write it off with one broad brush.

But it is incumbent upon all of us to do our due diligence before we travel to Mexico, or anywhere else.

It starts with first identifying your own comfort level when it comes to safety and security. From there, check the travel advisories, read the news, but also connect with people who have actually travelled to where you want to go. They will provide you with the most realistic assessment, as well as the dos and don’ts, neighbourhoods to avoid and local custom.

For some of us, this might mean playing it safer, by travelling to the places we are most familiar with. For others, if you put in the effort, the world is your oyster.

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