U.S. State Department Boosts Mexico’s Travel Advisory

The United States Department of State this week upped its travel advisory warning for certain areas of Mexico because of crime and kidnapping concerns.

The warning, which can be read in full here, differs for the various Mexican states. While the list of areas considered too dangerous for Americans to travel to is growing, most of the typical tourist areas in Mexico remain off that list.

For Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas, for instance, the State Dept. is advising travelers “do not travel” because of crime and kidnapping in those areas.

The State Department are telling Americans to “reconsider travel” to others, such as Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, and Sonora.

For other states, including some popular tourist areas such as Mexico City and Quintana Roo, the State Department is telling Americans to “exercise increased caution,” but is not warning them against travel—the State Department’s specific warning on Quintana Roo says “There are no restrictions on travel for U.S. government employees in Quintana Roo state, which include tourist areas in Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya.”

“However, personnel are advised to exercise increased situational awareness after dark in downtown areas of Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen, and to remain in well-lit pedestrian streets and tourist zones.”

The advisory implores U.S. citizens to “adhere to restrictions on U.S. government employee travel.” That includes not suing taxes and instead using “dispatched vehicles, including app-based services like Uber, and regulated taxi stands.”

For travel advisors, TMR's Paul Ruden took a look at what they need to know about disclosing these kinds of warnings back in 2019.