Mexicana Airlines to CEASE OPERATIONS tomorrow. So long Mexicana.

[MAK802]

Originally Posted by wanneroo

I don't know what planet you are on, but Americans end up missing and murdered all the time around those places, not to mention all the corrupt cops and other adventures like "fast food kidnapping", credit card rip offs, muggings and so on.

All the time, huh? If it happens all the time, there surely is documented evidence. Where is it?

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by MAK802

All the time, huh? If it happens all the time, there surely is documented evidence. Where is it?

Everywhere, it's not exactly hard to find if you choose. But I think you only want to hear what you want to hear, so have fun.

[coo77]

The Mexican tourism industry is likely not the whole reason Mexicana ceased operations. Debt, poor management, out of control costs, high pilots and flight attendant salaries, high leases on their fairly new aircraft, etc.... They also had done a poor job hedging their fuel and were stuck with higher fuel costs even as the market cost went down.

Mexicana actually had very high passenger loads, so the planes were pretty full, but the revenue was not enough to make up for their VERY high cost structure. Aeromexico for example is doing just fine and probably even better now with out Mexicana.

The USA has seen plenty of airlines fail as well and it more the business' fault than the tourist industry's fault.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Charles

Is this actually true?

No.

That poster left out that Mexico is a large country and some cities are very safe but others are not at all safe. Ciudad Juarez for example has a lot of murders and random crime. Carjackings are in the tens of thousands.

Read the State Department Travel Advisories for a truer picture.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by MAK802

As of March 2010, the murder rate in NYC has been up 20% from the previous year. 103 people were murdered as of March, probably double, maybe triple that, by now. A lot of these crimes are in Manhattan, in front of tourists. Maybe we should all avoid NYC for fear of being shot or shoved in front of the subway.

NYC Murder Rate Up 20 Percent So Far in 2010

New York City Murder Rate Up 23% In 2010

New York is quite a lot bigger than Juarez - and 103 in 2 or 3 months would seem like nothing -- try 322 for one month for a city one tenth the size of New York.

Juárez violence persists: August deadliest month with 322 killed - El Paso Times

In Juarez, from all reports, one has a very good chance of being a victim of random crime, stray bullets and those who kill you just because they didn't like the way you looked at them.

The whole border region is off limits to smart tourists. It's also wise to avoid the states of Michoacan, Sinaloa, and Guerrero. Cities like Guanajuato, Puebla, Cancun, Guadalajara are safe.

[MAK802]

Originally Posted by malamute

The whole border region is off limits to smart tourists. It's also wise to avoid the states of Michoacan, Sinaloa, and Guerrero. Cities like Guanajuato, Puebla, Cancun, Guadalajara are safe.

Exactly, border towns. There are no tourists being murdered in Cancun. Everyone keeps bringing up cities that are nowhere near the tourist destinations. I think people really need to look at a map and learn about the geography of Mexico. Surely, you wouldn't avoid going to Maine because there were some murders in Tennessee, right?

Here is a great article about what isn't shown in the media.

Here’s a tourism ad campaign for you:

“Yucatan. No drug-related killings in 2009 or the first half of 2010.”

Nobody’s actually putting those words into advertising...

In Mexico, where the trouble isn’t [Updated] - Travel - LATimes.com

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by MAK802

Exactly, border towns. There are no tourists being murdered in Cancun. Everyone keeps bringing up cities that are nowhere near the tourist destinations. I think people really need to look at a map and learn about the geography of Mexico. Surely, you wouldn't avoid going to Maine because there were some murders in Tennessee, right?

Your post is inaccurate in that the murders are occurring throughout Mexico as well as in certain cities that attract a lot of US tourists.

In the past four months, according to the US Embassy in Mexico: (:: US Embassy Mexico - Citizen Consular Services :: (http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/eacs_MexicoSecurityUpdate_April2010.html - broken link))


I have deleted all incidents that are less than 100 miles away from the US border. I have also deleted a number of incidents in Monterrey which had for years been considered a "safe city" even two years ago but which is catching up with Nuevo Laredo in the levels of violence.

2010 – April


Acapulco: A gun battle between government security forces and a drug trafficking organization erupted during afternoon hours on April 14 along the main tourist strip of Acapulco, Guerrero (Miguel Aleman Boulevard). Two Mexican national bystanders were caught in the exchange and died as a result of injuries received.

Guadalajara: Several recent incidents in and around the city have impacted areas frequented by local expatriate communities and tourists. On April 29 two individuals were shot near the Galerias Shopping Center in Zapopan, while a day later an armored truck near the Hilton Hotel was attacked by a gang of men wielding automatic weapons. Reports are that over one-hundred rounds were fired. An armed attack also occurred in the early afternoon hours of May 5 on a central street in Chapala, home to a large number of American citizen residents and a popular tourist destination.




[LEFT]2010 - July
[/LEFT]

Mazatlan, Sinaloa
As noted in the Travel Warning for Mexico, violent crime has recently increased in Mazatlan. In addition to an increase in the murder rate, Mazatlan police report more bank robberies, auto thefts and petty crime than in prior years.
Guadalajara, Jalisco
An armed attack occurred in the early afternoon hours of May 5 on a central street in Chapala, home to a large number of American citizen residents and a popular tourist destination. On May 19, a fake police roadblock was established by about 50 armed men on the road from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta (near Tepic). Criminals used the roadblock to steal vehicles from passing drivers. At least one family tried to avoid the roadblock resulting in gunshot wounds to a female passenger.



[LEFT]2010 - June[/LEFT]


Guadalajara, Jalisco
During broad daylight on Tuesday, June 29, within half a mile of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service office, and two miles of the U.S. Consulate, assailants in a sports utility vehicle fired over fifty AK-47 rounds into an official police vehicle, killing one officer and injuring a second one, who remains in critical condition. At least three innocent bystanders also died as a result of car accidents caused by police vehicles responding to the scene.
Nayarit
On June 15, 2010 the Governor of Nayarit announced an earlier end to the school year for all public K-12 schools in Nayarit. This decision was made due to increased violence in the state and rumors of possible attacks against schools. The school year was scheduled to end on July 9 but will now end on June 18. This may impact American Citizen Children and families in cities such as Nuevo Vallarta.

Zitacuara, Michoacan
On June 14 unidentified gunmen attacked a caravan of Federal Police Officers on their way to Mexico City. The shootout left 10 policemen dead and several gunmen, authorities continue searching for the remaining gunman. Zitacuara is near a butterfly reserve popular with tourists.
Taxco, Guerrero
Taxco, a popular tourist town, has seen increases in violence. On June 15 a shootout between the military and drug cartels lasted over an hour killing 15 suspects. Two weeks ago 55 bodies were discovered in an abandoned silver mine being used as a dumping ground for drug violence victims.


2010 - July

Guadalajara, Jalisco - On Monday July 12, 2010, approximately 2 miles from the “Galleria” shopping plaza, there was an attempted kidnapping that escalated into a running gun battle with high powered weapons. The victim managed to escape and was taken to a nearby hospital. The attackers were able to track their victim to the hospital and launched a 40 mm grenade through the window of the intensive care unit, injuring a doctor in the area. On July 18, members of an unnamed Drug Trafficking Organization ambushed 4 local police vehicles on the road from Guadalajara to Tizapan el Alto. Multiple police officers suffered severe injuries. Tizapan el Alto is located approximately 60km south of Guadalajara.