The United States Department of State updated its travel advisory for Mexico, classifying the major international tourism destinations as safe. The locations have received a “Level 2 – exercise increased caution” ranking, the same rating given to the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and China.
The U.S. Department of State gave most of the states the Level 2 rating, including: Quintana Roo, Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Yucatán, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla, Guanajuato, Baja California, Querétaro, Campeche, Veracruz, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, Aguascalientes and Hidalgo.
In states it advised visitors to reconsider travel, the U.S. Department of State exempted major tourist destinations. This includes Mazatlán, Los Mochis and Port Topolobampo in Sinaloa; Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Chapala and Ajijic in Jalisco; Riviera Nayarit, Punta Mita, Nuevo Vallarta, Santa Maria del Oro and Xalisco in Nayarit; Manzanillo in Colima; Morelia and Lazaro Cardenas in Michoacán; and Piedras Negras and Acuna City in Coahuila.
The Mexico Tourism Board responded to the U.S. Department of State’s ranking, expressing concern that the system accounts for overall crime of a country or state and does not look at the threat to tourists or business travelers. In a press release it said, “the overwhelming majority of these incidents do not take place in tourist destinations or places that tourists frequent, and an even smaller portion involve tourists.”
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