The State of Texas is urging young Texans to avoid Mexico during Spring Break and keep their dollars at home.
March 7, 2012- On Tuesday, the state of Texas issued the usual travel warnings to its residents for the third straight year. The warnings suggest that Texans should not visit Mexico for the annual spring break vacations that coincide with university classes stopping for a week.
Texas authorities warned that violence created by drug cartels and other crimes make even the resort areas unsafe. This announcement by Texas authorities is a huge blow for tourism in Mexico and the country’s economy in general.
Mexico’s second biggest industry is tourism. Nearly 60% of all the people that visit Mexico are Americans. Nearly one third is either residents of Texas or drive through the state to enter Mexico.
Even though Mexican authorities pleaded with officials in Texas to limit their warnings to just specific areas, Texas authorities went ahead with their warnings even in tourist areas. Officials in Mexico insist that tourist areas like Cabo San Lucas and Cancun, which are very popular, are also very safe for tourists.
Since 2006, when Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon started his war on drugs, over 40,000 people have lost their lives in Mexico. Texas officials said that last year 120 Americans were killed in Mexico, up from just 35 in 2007. They also said that the majority of crimes in general and many against Americans go unpunished in Mexico.
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