Tourism

Why Cancun Will Be One Of The Safest Mexican Destinations In 2023

December 28, 2022

Last Updated 15 mins ago

Cancun has been a popular vacation destination for many years, but over the last two years, it has had more visitors than ever as people started traveling again following the pandemic. This has caused Cancun officials to begin coming up with solutions to better address security in order to maintain the image of being a safe destination for foreign tourists to visit.

Increasing safety is something that will continue into next year as officials continue adding new security measures, and this is why Cancun will be one of the safest Mexican destinations in 2023.

In March, the U.S. State Department issued a warning about violence in certain areas of Mexico. That list included the state of Quintana Roo, which is the state that Cancun is in, and although the department did not tell American citizens not to visit the popular tourist destination, they did suggest being cautious while visiting. It was shortly after that warning that officials started increasing security in the area.

In May, officials really started ramping up security following a recent crime wave that reportedly didn’t affect tourists — but needed to be addressed nonetheless. At that time, they started bringing in more federal security personnel and putting more national guard elements and police in tourist areas. They were used to patrol places like the Hotel Zone, the beaches and marina, and the downtown area.

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U.S. Travel Warnings For Cancun Are Over-Cautious

In the warning by the U.S. State Department in March, one of the crimes that they warned against was kidnapping. But despite the warning, there was only one kidnapping between the beginning of the year and September that took place in March. To ensure that kidnapping wouldn’t be a crime that became a problem, security officials began monitoring restaurants, bars, and other tourist areas with cameras as well.

Personnel Consistently Added

By the end of this year, prior to the busy holiday season, security was enhanced even more. In November, more than 200 Navy officers were deployed to Cancun and the Riviera Maya region to help prevent crime. Then again, in December, more than 2,000 law enforcement personnel were deployed to the Mexican Caribbean to protect the huge influx of tourists that were expected for the holidays.

Extra Security Is Working

All of the extra security that has been provided in Cancun seems to be working because we are not seeing high numbers of crimes affecting tourists being reported. And in October, it was reported that the number of homicides decreased, and crime overall only increased by less than five percent. This is despite the fact that tourism was getting back to normal following the pandemic, and huge numbers of tourists were visiting.

Most Crime Doesn’t Affect Tourists

The crimes that were taking place typically had to do with extortion and drugs rather than violent crimes against tourists. And by the month of October, the U.S. updated their travel advisory to a level two, deeming Cancun one of the safer Mexican vacation destinations to visit. But that doesn’t seem to be stopping Cancun officials from providing enhanced security anyway, and they will likely continue to do so.

The Year Ahead

In 2023 Cancun is adding 150 more police officers to the force to help with crime prevention and the protection of citizens and tourists, proving again that this tourist destination takes security very seriously. There will likely be additional military assistance provided during the busiest times as well. Actions like this, and the continued monitoring of tourist areas, are why Cancun will be one of the safest Mexican destinations in 2023.