Mexico Works for an Image Makeover

We at Gus HQ have been seeing tourist numbers steadily rising in Baja for a while now, and it's very encouraging. That's why I was interested to read this article from the Globe and Mail: Mexico battles ‘sun, sea and severed heads’ image. It says that the Mexican government is now trying to change its image - highlighting the country's safety and wonderful travel opportunities and trying to shake the stigma of violence. From the article:

Of 5.1 million visits in the past four years, only 20 Canadians have died while in Mexico, and almost all were accidental deaths, with alcohol playing a role in many (seven, he says, were falls from balconies).

This is the kind of thing that never shows up in articles about Mexico. All of us at Gus HQ have spent a lot of time in Mexico without experiencing anything but an incredibly beautiful country and kind, friendly people. And we know many people whose experiences have been the same.

We've seen a lot of news reports about tragedies in this country. But such stories never point out that, statistically, the country is actually not much more violent than many places in the United States. Nor do such stories describe what percentage of the people who've been involved in violence were directly involved in the drug trade. Nor do they point out that violence is actually highly localized in a few key areas, with most parts of the country remaining quite safe.

These days, it seems as though the media has decided that Mexico is an extremely violent place, and any story which can support that theme is splashed across the front page, while the stories of Mexico's awesomeness tend to fade into the background.

Meanwhile, those of us in the know will keep trekking through this incredible country, learning about its rich history and its incredible cultures, and meeting the millions of kind, generous, happy people who call Mexico their home.