Negative News Continues to Impact Mexico Tourism Plans

U.S. state department warnings and negative media coverage appear to be impacting travelers looking to vacation in Mexico, according to a recent survey.

The number of booking inquiries for Cancun and Los Cabos dropped in the latest analysis by Allianz Global Assistance, a leading travel insurance provider. The number of travelers processing airfare and tour package online bookings for roundtrip flights from U.S. airports through Allianz Global Assistance partners dropped more than a full percentage point this year for Cancun, and nearly half a percentage point for Los Cabos.

The data analyzed was for itineraries departing from US airports between May 28-Sept. 3, for trips between five and eight days in length.

Still, Cancun remains the most popular international destination for Allianz customers, at 15.7 percent for total insurance offers, down from 16.9 percent last year. Los Cabos dropped from the third most popular destination to fifth most popular, with 4.3 percent of total insurance offers (down from 4.6 percent this time last year.) It appears that the two Mexico vacation locations lost market share principally to the Dominican Republic (7.8 percent, up from 5.3 percent last year), Jamaica (5.8 percent, up from 4.2 percent in 2017) and Nassau, the Bahamas (up to 4.3 percent from 3.1 percent last year.)

This year’s results also revealed that Americans looking to travel domestically are planning trips to Orlando (8.8 percent) and New York City (5.5 percent), followed by Las Vegas (5.4 percent), and Los Angeles (4 percent).

Outside of Mexico and the Caribbean, perennial favorites London and Paris came in at 3.5 percent and 2.8 percent respectively.