Tourism took a big hit when Princess Cruises decided to cancel a trio of Puerto Vallarta port calls in November and December. Safety is the main concern, coupled with visitors’ mounting fear that they could be caught up in Mexico’s drug wars.
Now the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board is trying to calm would-be travelers, people who are the lifeblood of this Pacific Coast vacation destination. A report commissioned by the Board asserts that Puerto Vallarta “is one of the safest tourist destinations for international and national” visitors.
The Board appointed Thomas Dale & Associates (TDA), a major investigative and security firm, to put together a security and threat assessment. TDA went to the resort in mid-April, conducted interviews and assessed conditions before coming to a conclusion.
The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board says the interviews focused on perceptions of safety among visitors, personal experience, and United States Travel Warnings to Mexico. While U.S. State Department travel warnings don’t specifically encompass Puerto Vallarta, they do take in the state of Jalisco, in which the resort city is located. In its overall warning of April 22, 2011 the State Department says, “The number of U.S. citizens reported to the Department of State as murdered in Mexico increased from 35 in 2007 to 111 in 2010.”
Still, according to the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board, the TDA study it commission determined “the number of negative events involving foreigners or non-foreigners is fractional compared to the large ex-pat population and the millions of visitors that come to vacation each year in Puerto Vallarta.”
Whether you choose to visit there is up to you. This will help: visit the State Departments Country-Specific Information page. The deals are relatively good in Puerto Vallarta these days, but you’ve got to make a clear-headed assessment of your own before you decide to book.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: HBarrison)
