British travelers preparing for summer 2019 holidays in Mexico have been issued an urgent travel warning to take “extreme care.”
The official alert, on gov.uk, comes amid increasing violence in Mexico. It updated its advice to tourists Thursday, particularly targeting those traveling in the states of Tabasco and Veracruz. It honed in on the shootings that have taken place in tourist destinations, as well.
“Illegal roadblocks have also been reported more frequently. You should take extreme care,” reads the notice, in part.
It also flagged the increasing violence levels in tourist hotspots Cancun and Playa del Carmen: “The Mexican government makes efforts to protect major tourist destinations like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta.”
“These areas have mostly not seen the levels of drug-related violence and crime experienced elsewhere in Mexico,” the advisory continued.
“However, since 2017 there have been a number of reported shooting incidents and other incidents of violence in these areas, including in locations popular with tourists.”
It assured travelers, however, that “there is currently an increased police presence in the Cancun area, including in the hotel zone. While tourists have not been the target of such incidents, anyone in the vicinity of an incident could be affected.”
Travelers were also warned about mosquito-borne illness: “UK health authorities have classified Mexico as having a risk of Zika virus transmission. For more information and advice, visit the National Travel Health Network and Centre website.”
“Over 513,800 British nationals visited Mexico in 2016. Most visits are trouble-free,” the government also said.
