Well, lately -due to what's now known as La Narco Guerra (The War against Narco-traffic)-, a lot of people around the World is concerned about traveling down to Mexico and, up to some point, it is quite understandable; I mean, because their perspective is based only on what they see on the news, which most of the time are quite scandalous and not always accurate with what's really going on.
In my very particular opinion and -as a Mexican, of course-, if there is something Mexico is good for, that sure is tourism. Seriously, I would get if you don't wanna live here -I no longer want to live here myself- but just visiting it for vacation...that's something not only you can allow yourself to do, but pretty much a MUST! There are SO many touristic attractions of all kinds that, no matter what you like or what type of vacation you enjoy, Mexico is ready to cover everything as we have those beautiful and paradise-like sandy beaches, amazing forests, incredible deserts, pretty woods and awesome cities; not to mention one of the most amazing cuisines in the whole world and -mostly- great and friendly people.
So really, there's no excuse not to come and have the time of your life in Mexico and, even if after reading this you still find yourself a bit hesitating, well, here's something that might help. It's written by Tim Leffel, blogger and traveler.
"There’s been a lot of news coverage about violence in Mexico, very little of it bothering to note that Mexico is a huge country with thirty-some states and that a) almost all of that violence is narco-related and b) you can count the number of tourists affected on one hand.
Meanwhile, according to the FBI, “An estimated 15,241 persons were murdered nationwide in 2009″ in the United States of America.
Officially, 111 U.S. citizens were killed in Mexico last year, a third in just two cities. Almost all of them were involved in illicit vocations, usually the trafficking of guns, drugs, or people across the border. This is 111 out of close to 8 million visitors, with nearly 1 million of those being part- or full-time residents choosing Mexico over the U.S. or Canada.
You know who else had 111 murders in one year recently? Boston. And Las Vegas. And Orlando. Are any tourists scared of going to those places?
Meanwhile, almost 1,000 U.S. citizens died in Puerto Rico. Nobody running the news desks cares about Puerto Rico or has an incentive to make people scared of Puerto Ricans (by nature, they can’t be “illegal immigrants”), so this isn’t widely reported.
Then there’s the U.S. proper, which can’t get a State Department travel alert because it’s, well, not a foreign country. How’s your city doing in comparison to Mexico when it comes to the annual numbers?
Atlanta - city, 80 murders. Atlanta MSA (metropolitan statistical area), 325 murders
Baltimore – 238 city, 298 MSA
Boston – 50 city, 111 MSA
Dallas/Ft. Worth – 210 city, 310 MSA
Detroit – 365 city, 447 MSA
Houston – 287 city, 462 MSA
Indianapolis – 100 city, 111 MSA
Jacksonville, FL – 99 city, 120 MSA
Kansas City – 100 city, 163 MSA
Las Vegas – 111 city, 133 MSA
Los Angeles – 312 city, 768 MSA
Miami - 59 city, 377 Miami to Boca Raton corridor
New Orleans – 174 city, 252 MSA
New York City – 471 city, 778 MSA
Orlando – 28 city, 111 MSA
Philadelphia – 302 city, 436 MSA
Phoenix – 122 city, 302 MSA
San Francisco – 45 city, 292 MSA
St. Louis – 143 city, 210 MSA
Washington, DC – 143 city, 325 MSA
To put things in perspective, the murder rate in the Yucatan state of Mexico is 2 per 100,000. That’s about the same as Fond du Lac, Wisconsin or Evansville, Indiana. Mexico City’s is 8 per 100,000. Despite being one of the most populated cities on the planet, that’s on par with Albuquerque, NM. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never felt scared in Albuquerque…"
