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Mexico may be every American’s favorite sunny destination, thanks to its year-round warm weather, vibrant and inviting culture, and tropical atmosphere, but there’s no denying that despite its rising popularity, safety remains a primary concern for visitors.
Whether it’s the mainstream media’s misinformation campaigns or travel advisories that don’t accurately reflect the risks on the ground, many American visitors have developed an irrational fear of vacationing south of the border.
We can’t exactly blame them if every violent event that happens in Mexico, no matter how sporadic and far removed from the usual tourist spots, makes headlines in the United States, even if security is tight and risks to foreigners remain minimal .
An example of this is Puerto Vallartaa coastal city in Jalisco, a state in Mexico that many would consider dangerous due to gang activity, but in fact is named safest beach destination in the entire country:
Is Puerto Vallarta actually a lot safer than it is given credit for?
Puerto Vallarta is one of the most popular beach zones in Mexico, famous for its highly developed resort strip, Pacific Ocean beaches and LGBT-friendly Romantic Zone, a picturesque, cobbled, historic neighborhood where colonial tradition and bohemia go hand in hand.
Americans love it for its laid-back, coastal atmosphere, great local food, and of course the long miles of sand that separate PV from the azure ocean, but there’s always a major disadvantage for overcautious tourists: The state is considered a Level 3 destination by US authorities.
In simple terms, US authorities are urging Americans to ‘reconsider’ traveling to Jalisco as they could expose themselves to higher levels of crime and even risk being kidnapped.
Yet PV remains the third most booked sunny holiday in Mexico, behind Cancun and Los Cabos, and we find it hard to believe this would still be the case crime would be just as rampant as it should be.
Now we have confirmed our suspicion that Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding beach area are safer than it is given credit for.
More than 80% of residents find PV safe to live in
Based on new data collected by ENSU, Mexico’s National Urban Public Safety Survey is one of the most reliable parameters for assessing existing safety levels. The vast majority of PV residents aged 18 and over consider it a safe city to live in.
More specific, only 19.4 percent of residents experience it as unsafe, compared to 80.6 percent who indicate that they feel safe in the neighborhood.
It is worth noting that researchers evaluated safety perceptions for local residents, and not tourists.
Yet the fact is that the pata salad (as the Vallarta natives are called) are convinced that their city is safe – and they generally live in suburban areas themselves, and not locked up in heavily guarded five-star resorts – should only serve as proof gringos should be equal fewer Worried.
Additionally, Puerto Vallarta is the safest beach destination in Mexico, higher than any other coastal hub in the ENSU rankings, including the aforementioned Cancun and Los Cabos.
By extension it is the second safest municipality all of Mexico.
It ranks only behind Benito Juarez, which has a negative safety perception rate of just 15.2 percent, but interestingly ranks higher than Merida, in the Yucatán, and San Francisco de Campeche, in Campeche, which is often considered the safest state capital in Mexico .
Both cities have been added to the U.S. State Department’s Level 1 list, meaning Americans can take normal precautions while visiting.
Despite PV’s excellent results in ENSU’s latest assessment, it still retains its Level 3 status, so what’s wrong?
Travel advice is just that: advice
The State Department is known for being extremely conservative when it comes to assessing security risks for different destinations.
Particularly in the case of Mexico each state gets its own classification unlike the whole country: in no other destination in the world are states, provinces or other forms of domestic administrative divisions assessed differently for the purpose of risk assessment.
Because each state in Mexico is analyzed individually, this can lead to increased scrutiny and, in some cases, a hyperfocus on the negative events that affect them.
The state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun and Tulum, infamously had a travel warning due to crime and kidnappings in 2022, even though a single kidnapping case was reported that entire year.
It took months and a series of comments from the Mexican president before the kidnap warning was withdrawn. thus calling into question its timeliness of these opinions.
That is not to say that Jalisco’s inclusion in the Level 3 list is unwarranted, as US authorities may have access to sensitive information that the general public is unaware of, but it is only natural that new questions will be raised if there are other questions. equally reliable sources present a different point of view.
In short, there is no harm in being somewhat cautious when visiting Mexico as a whole.
Although it is unlikely that you will encounter any petty or violent crimes while vacationing in beautiful Puerto Vallarta, especially when the state of Jalisco more police deployed To protect tourists last year, avoid showing unnecessary signs of wealth, don’t walk alone in dimly lit areas after dark, and stay away from secluded, dodgy neighborhoods.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
