Visitors may not be conversant with the growing violence in Cancun.
Cancun was once hailed as one of the country’s safest.
This week, five people were found dead near the public prosecutor’s office in the city on the Yucatan Peninsula, bringing the death toll by violence in the beach city to more than 100 since the beginning of the year.
Drug cartels are operating in the region more openly.
While tourists have not been the targets of violence so far, killings are starting to take place closer to destinations popular with visitors.
The Government of Canada has a general travel advisory for Mexico but has not advised Canadians against planning travel to Cancun or the surrounding areas, including Playa del Carmen, another popular beach location.
A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said the department recommends that Canadian travelers exercise a high degree of caution in Mexico.
The spokesperson acknowledged that although the violence does not target tourists, violence related to organized crime increased throughout the country in 2017.
In 2013, Diego Hernandez a man from Vancouver and an American man were believed to have been abducted by police officers in another popular vacation destination, Puerto Vallarta.
The two men have never been found.
Nancy and Domenic Ianiero of Vaughan, Ont., were staying with family members at the Barcelo Maya Resort in Riviera Maya in Quintana Roo, the same state as Cancun.
They were found slashed to death on Feb. 20, 2006 in their hotel rooms. Their killer has not been found.
Cancun, a popular sun and beach destination among Canadians, Americans and Europeans, had been regarded as safe until 2017.
Despite the killings, Canadian tour and travel operators continue selling tours to Cancun without informing their clients of the dangers in the place.
If you talked to these operators, they will tell you Cancun is safe!
The operators will show no concerns about the murders that have taken place, probably they do not want to alarm tourists, hence killing their tourism business.
While Canada has not listed a specific, higher-level caution for Cancun the way it has for other destinations in Mexico, the U.S. government recently instituted a Level 2 advisory for Quintana Roo state, which includes Cancun.
While most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens, says part of the advisory from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Shooting incidents injuring or killing bystanders do happen.
I remember asking a friend who travels a lot allover the world if he has been to Mexico.
His answer: Why would i visit such a dangerous country.
Tourism Observer
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