The travelers are sticking to their trip plan despite the violence that has raged in Mexico since the arrest of one of the sons of notorious drug trafficker “El Chapo” last week.
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The Saguenay travel agencies with whom TVA Nouvelles spoke did not count any cancellations for this destination popular with many Saguenéens. The increased presence of police is even reassuring for some travellers, like Julyanne Rivard.
“We’ve been out in town twice and there are police on every street corner,” said the young woman who is currently in Riviera Maya with her parents. We went to 5th and 10th Avenue and you really see police everywhere. There are also some on the beach on four wheels, but it’s reassuring because we tell ourselves that they are there precisely to ensure our safety.
She and her family avoid straying from busy areas. As for travel sales specialists, they believe that the situation is not alarming in the sectors most frequented by tourists.
“You have to be careful everywhere, but Riviera Maya and Cancun are not dangerous destinations, assured the owner of Voyages Aqua-Sud, France Gaudreault. We are far from Sinaloa. We are 3,000 kilometers from where the violence is raging. I was talking with a client who is leaving Bagotville next week for Riviera Maya. She told me that she had almost canceled, but that she inquired and she saw that it was not at all in the same corner.
Canada especially advises travelers to avoid areas far from tourist areas and to exercise great caution in the tourist city of Mazatlan, located in the west of the country.
“I’ve been a travel agent for 35 years and when I started, people went to Acapulco and Mazatlan, explained Ms. Gaudreault. We haven’t sold this destination for 20 years, it’s been back for about 4 to 5 years.
Sunwing has also canceled its next flights to Mazatlan, according to the agent.
“We are on January 26 for the next flight,” she said. But if it doesn’t calm down by then, in my opinion the destination of Mazatlan will stop for this year. »