Is It Safe to Travel to Mexico for Spring Break?
The Famous Arches in Cabo San Lucas Mexico
Please allow me to share some of my thoughts about traveling to Mexico with you.
Getting away for a Spring Break Vacation with a group of friends has become a rite of passage for College Students across the US and Canada. Planning a vacation is supposed to be exciting. The thought of leaving reality behind and anticipating all the new experiences waiting around the bend is often the best part of any trip. It’s like the thrill of a perfectly wrapped birthday gift just begging to be opened.
Unfortunately news reports inflating the recent travel warnings to Mexico have given many parents a cause for pause, reflection and concern. As soon as these stories aired on National television in August, we began receiving emails and phone calls asking for our opinion on the matter. The USA Today continues to regurgitate the same story over and over again. The question of the Fall…. Is it safe to travel to Mexico for Spring Break?
Please allow me to share some of my thoughts with you…
As with the United States, Mexico is a very large Country. There are some bad things happening to good, innocent, unsuspecting people in these countries as well as around the world. The reality is heartbreaks happen – regardless of location. A majority of events in Mexico are occurring thousands of miles away from the tourist destinations. Fortunately, to date these bad things have not directly impacted American Tourists to our major resort destinations of Cancun and Cabo San Lucas.
My condolences go out to the families impacted by the recent events in Las Vegas, Orlando and European cities and all who have suffered such an incredible loss. The fact is, in today’s world, innocent, good people are victim’s everyday of crimes and accidents. I applaud the people who continue to travel to these destinations in record numbers without fear.
How we choose to live our lives is a choice we must make. As the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words”. I am a parent of two teen age girls. I have made the personal commitment to expose them to the world outside of the United States and open their eyes to other cultures.
In the Summer of 2015, we were taking a ferry from Rhodes to Santorini Greece. In route we stopped in Kos, where about 600 refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Northern Africa boarded our ship. My initial reaction was concern for the safety of my family. However, after personally walking around the ship and speaking to a few of the refuges, I returned to my cabin a brought my daughters out to meet and hear some of their stories first hand.
We spoke to people who lost their parents in bombings, who had been beaten by gangs. The stories were horrific. My girls learned firsthand what these people experienced and developed a huge compassion for them. This experience is not something they will soon forget, nor will I.
When it comes specifically to vacations, our actions as parents have huge hereditary ripple effects on our children. Our actions speak much louder than our words. Do our actions show our children fear or do we allow travel to create curious, world citizens?
A Spring Break vacation is an opportunity for our children to experience new cultures, learn take responsibility for their actions and learn to make the right choices.
STSTravel as a company does provide onsite American staff to assist our travelers in a time of need. Whether, relaying directions, keeping them informed or relaying messages from concerned parents our staff is available 24 hours a day. Upon arrival in destinations, our staff provides welcome orientations with simple reminders to help ensure and safe and fun vacation.
I returned last week from a conference in Cancun. Cancun was business as usual. Our flight was full of newlyweds, couples and groups heading away on vacation. We traveled in taxis and on public buses, we walked the sidewalks and along the beach. At no point did we experience anything different from years past.
There have been some issues in Cancun recently as outlined in the Travel Warning. I can confirm that as stated in the Travel Warning, these events occurred miles away from the hotel zone and had no impact on US Citizens. I felt completely safe inside our resort and in the public areas.
I respect that you need to make the right decisions on behalf of your beliefs and family. Vacations bring tremendous benefits to us and to children. It is my belief that these benefits far outweigh the risks.
My hope is that you choose to let your children travel to Mexico this Spring Break and to believe in all the “good” of this world.
Thank you for allowing me to share my own experiences and perspective with you.
Jeff Jacobsen
President
Student Travel Services