From 18 April:
1. Are you soon travelling to Punta Cana? Read our courtesy assessment.
From 22 April:
2. Did you know? Bahamas, Jamaica & Belize all have a higher murder rate than Brazil (http://UNODC.org ) Over 8M visitors last year...
3. Costa Rica update: Tourists robbed, shot in San Jose (http://ticotimes.net ). This was avoidable. Consult us prior to travel & stay safer.
From 23 April:
4. U.S. Girl Strangled, Sexually Assaulted in the Bahamas. (http://www.cruiselawnews.comime/us-girl-strangled-sexually-assaulted-in-the-bahamas/index.html)
Our comment: Every year millions of vacationers flock to the warmer climates of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (those are also referred to as Middle America region). The peak season for tourists is understandably during the winter months but can also stretch from October until April. Resorts and beaches are among the most popular stops for the journey. The Mexican government has claimed 24 million visitors in 2012 while the Caribbean region received almost 25 million tourists for the same year. If we add that just under 12,5 million people stayed for a holiday in Central America, over 60 million visited that region of the world. Understandably, tourism is a very important component to the economies of those countries which are considered as developing. Tourism is growing globally and this is also true for the Middle America region where the active promotion of their countries' natural beauties by their respective tourism boards are actively advertised in many media of the developed world. Another feature of the region is the presence of higher rates of crime. The scope of this blog post is not fear mongering but rather to inform travellers of an inherent risk. For that reason, most of those countries have resorts that are secured by government security forces and night time explorations of the surrounding areas away from the resorts are not recommended due to obvious reasons. Statistics on murders, kidnappings, assaults, rapes, etc confirm that these countries are not safe. Specific reasons cannot be easily articulated on why the region is among the most dangerous in the world, however socio-economic factors, corruption and spotty law enforcement are all contributing ingredients. Every day thousands of tourists visit these countries and 99% usually remain safe. They abide to rules and advice, use common sense and thousands will keep revisiting yearly unless major safety issues are brought to their attention. Why do some tourists get in trouble while the overwhelming majority never do? For whatever reasons, most incidents are generally avoidable. Government travel advice websites will offer tips that are usually considered adequate but remain mostly generic. News reports and researching your destination will add to your awareness. Dangers are nonetheless present wherever people travel to spend some of their hard earned income to escape colder climates for a week or two. First time travellers such as young adults are susceptible and the ever popular spring breaks offer countless examples of bad outcomes.
Our outlook: Travel to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean is encouraged and by abiding to certain rules most everybody will have the trip of a lifetime. For travellers who wish to visit "off the path" destinations, for corporate and business travellers or NGOs who need to reach more remote areas, be aware that your government travel advice and warning services are limited and many contributing threat and hazard factors are not commonly enumerated for mitigation. It would be wise to retain the services of a travel risk mitigation company for support. Be mindful that many of those companies will offer expensive packages that your government offers for free and that the same companies omit to supply a predictive element for your safety. We, on the other hand, offer accurate insight and assess what is likely to occur next in order to keep our clients safer.
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