Mexico Travel Update

Not surprisingly, there’s been an overabundance of negative media coverage these past few weeks about the H1N1 virus in Mexico. But do travelers have this in proper perspective?

Mexico’s Health Minister reports that o the 159 deaths reported during the flu outbreak, only 16 were confirmed to be associated with the swine flu. (mexico City alone has a population of over 26 million people. In the United States, we have thousands of death from flu each year.

Of greatest concern to travelers should be what’s happening in the main tourism areas such as Cancun, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. There have been no reported outbreaks of flu in these areas.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is not recommending travel restrictions. According to the WHO, scientific research indicates restricting travel will be of limited or no benefit in stopping the spread of disease.

CNN’s travel expert, Peter Greenberg states the H1N1 reporting has been blown out of proportion and has created an unnecessary ’abundance of fear’.

Even with the negative reports, Mexico tourism remains active and all restaurants, cafes, libraries, museums, churches and archaeological sites are open.