Spring Breakers Are Still Travelling To Mexico Despite Security Warnings Issued By Texas

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico is taking a rare opportunity to tweak neighboring Texas, saying the number of U.S. spring breakers visiting Mexico this year rose 7.2 percent despite a travel warning issued by the U.S. state.

Mexico's Tourism Department notes with some satisfaction that tourists arriving during March included some highly regarded Texans – the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. They agency says they did a calendar shoot on Mexico's Caribbean coast.

A Tuesday announcement from the department says 77,000 young tourists visited Mexico on spring break trips between March 5 and 30.

In early March, the Texas Department of Public Safety advised students on spring break to avoid Mexico, citing violence.

Overall, the number of U.S. tourists visiting Mexico in March totaled 382,376, young and old. That is a 7.3 percent increase from 2011.

Also on HuffPost:

Alternative Spring Break Locations In Mexico:

Comments

[Jerry Bourbon]

05:13 PM on 05/04/2012

Just got back from two weeks in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. Man that was fun. I think I may need a liver transplant. Now it is time to start preparing for a month in Paraguay this fall.

I am glad I am not a wimp...

[Megandale]

03:58 PM on 05/04/2012

Never in a million years would I let my kids go there on spring break.

[Jerry Bourbon]

05:10 PM on 05/04/2012

It must be a drag to have a parent who is a wimp.

It must be an even BIGGER drag to be 18 or 19 and actually OBEY a wimpy parent...

[Megandale]

06:42 PM on 05/04/2012

My kids wouldn't know, they're 4 and 2. Simply looking out for my kids. Mexico isn't the best place for a bunch of drunken teens at the current moment. Must be a drag for kids to have parents who feel the need to be "cool" and to be their "buddies" rather than protect them.

[WWZander]

02:57 AM on 05/04/2012

I rather deal with Mexicans then the french canadians I am forced to deal with!

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:42 PM on 05/04/2012

Isn't that the truth. Mexicans bathe regularly...

[lovelyliberalchick]

10:05 PM on 05/03/2012

Most people are just jealous of these young bucks having fun.Have fun while you live.

[Jerry Bourbon]

05:11 PM on 05/04/2012

Indeed. What a drag to be 80 and drooling, and your only memories are that you never did anything "dangerous".

[lovelyliberalchick]

10:02 PM on 05/03/2012

I was in Cancun and it was super safe and I had fun at Coco Bongo and Fiesta American Beach and Resort

[inthedesert]

09:58 AM on 05/03/2012

People in this age group are not the smartest folks around.

[MrTreize]

09:08 AM on 05/03/2012

Take it from me, a military man. The drug cartels the mainstream media wants you to fear enough to vote in idiots to send troops or enact laws against the exotic drug manufacturers are not after or afraid of ordinary citizens who will gladly give over their money for a good time. Those people are firstly businessmen. Drunk and crazy kids boost profits. Drunk and crazy kids do not hunt them down and try to kill them or force their beliefs on them or try to make them behave in a certain manner. More people than ever are doing drugs and it shows no signs of slowing down. Now people can get drugs even better from their doctors that cause more harm than booze and marijuana ever did.

[Mochilero]

09:08 AM on 05/03/2012

Americans are so ignorant, fed by a drive-by sensationalistic media. I am presently in the state of Campeche, very close to Cancun. There was one murder in the entire state last year. One. Away from the cartel wars fueled by US demand, US money and US arms, the great part of Mexico is far safer than our own violent society.

[Bruce Spart]

12:14 AM on 05/04/2012

Mexico's homicide rate is 4.5 times that of the US. Try again.

[Mochilero]

04:07 AM on 05/04/2012

There are three types of lies, lies, damned lies and statistics. Bruce, if you don't understand statistics, don't use them. What is the difference in the homicide rates in Detroit and a small town in the Dakotas? Sure there are loads of murders in Mexico, but they are nearly all concentrated in a few areas involving the cartels. I am here. A lot. The streets are utterly safe and peaceful almost everywhere in this very large country.

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:43 PM on 05/04/2012

So stay home. Simple really. Let the non-wimps have their fun.

[SweetSoulMusicMan]

09:05 AM on 05/03/2012

Texas???....i thought the wingnuts claimed president Obama banned travel to mexico then went there himself....my guess is the hobbits love mexico but just hate mexicans

[mira chancleta]

12:51 PM on 05/03/2012

...a bumper sticker in Austin, TX ( a "liberal" oasis, I am told)...

"LOVE MEXICO, HATE MEXICANS"

[Cory111]

05:48 PM on 05/03/2012

It's the amount of methane gas in the air, way to many cows.

Obama 2012-2016

[pukkita]

03:34 PM on 05/04/2012

oxyMORON

[jmar829]

09:03 AM on 05/03/2012

Because Texas issued a warning? LOL!

Telling people not to go to Mexico because of violence is like saying don't come to America because of Detroit.

[Megandale]

03:59 PM on 05/04/2012

Big difference when you're talking about drunk teenagers...that's why I wouldn't let my kids go there.

[jmar829]

04:58 PM on 05/04/2012

You don't think your teens get drunk here?

[Sue-in-Jersey]

08:57 AM on 05/03/2012

Some parts of Mexico are still safe, and beautiful places to vacation. Some aren't. When I lived in San Diego, we would go down to Ensenada. Now I'd probably avoid that western shore of Mexico and only vacation in the "Mexican Riviera" below Cancun. Generally "border towns" deserve their dicey reputation, kids.

[RicHerr]

09:49 AM on 05/03/2012

Also, I would add that Mexican border towns are a response for American craves. It's symbiotic.

[joekiggy]

08:48 AM on 05/03/2012

There's a difference between going on Spring Break to some urban area (comparatively uncommon) in a major city, and going to a practically fortified, isolated and insular holiday resort on some tiny island off the coasts of Mexico. I personally think those kinds of trips are boring, but I can't really knock them for being particularly dangerous.

[GaryNOVA]

08:06 AM on 05/03/2012

I was just down in Tulum in Quintana Roo and it was beautiful and peaceful. After doing some research I found the travel advisories were more to the north. Mexico is a GREAT country!

[FoxIslander]

09:04 AM on 05/03/2012

I love mexico...the vast majority of the country is safe.

[wanderingsalmon]

12:08 PM on 05/03/2012

Ahh Tulum... nekkid Europeans, which is way better than nekkid 'Mericans.

[Mailman]

07:46 AM on 05/03/2012

Because they are dumb kids looking for cheap drinks and parties.

[da6675]

06:02 AM on 05/03/2012

The possibility of being the late subjects of a "based on a true story" teen-scream horror film (DVD straight to Redbox) is just too good to pass up.