Are You There, America? It's Me, Cabo
Though many travelers to Cabo San Lucas were concerned about the course of hurricane Jimena, the impact so far has been minimal and according to recent reports, the path of the storm has changed course, leaving the Northern part of the Baja Peninsula preparing for the worst. According to Weather.com, “The hurricane has passed to west and is now north of the resorts along the southern tip of Baja California. The area did not experience any major impacts.”
For resort towns like Cabo San Lucas, the main effect from the storm has not been a physical one as much as an economic one. For an area that has seen a decline in tourism due to panic over violence and swine flu, the threat of a hurricane was like a cruel joke; it’s just another thing to keep travelers away.
The reports of drug related violence and the possibility of a deadly disease was all most travelers needed to hear to avoid Mexico all together. Unfortunately for the resort communities like Cabo San Lucas, that thrive on tourism, these generalized fears are preventing people from traveling to a place that is just as safe as it has ever been.
The stories of drug traffickers shot down in the streets and warnings from the US government have done little to help Mexico’s reputation. It’s no secret now that many areas of Mexico are unsafe and should be avoided by tourists. That, however, does not mean that all of Mexico is dangerous. The news reports of violence earlier this year and the chilling tales of drug gangs stalking officers were for areas near the U.S. and Mexico border and included cities such as Ciudad Jua?rez, which is actually closer to Texas than it is to most of Mexico.
When you take these stories and add to them the reports of a mysterious and deadly flu, it’s no wonder that people in this current economic slump are avoiding Mexico completely. The media gets a hold of something as juicy as a new flu that you can die from and the general public starts looking for surgical masks to wear to protect them from this deadly disease. Never mind that you can die from the good old regular flu that many of us get once a year.
A problem that most U.S. citizens have is that we tend to lump everything south of the States as “Mexico.” Or, we think of everything south of our borders as “South America,” not realizing that Mexico is part of the continent of North America, just like us and just like Canada. The point is, our lack of geographical knowledge is hurting travel to some really great places. Mexico is big. South America is even bigger. Make sure you are not avoiding an entire country or an entire continent based on a few news reports.
So, you’ve done your research and realize that Cabo San Lucas is far from the violent areas reported in the news, and it hasn’t had a swine flu outbreak, and now comes the threat of a hurricane. If something is going to keep you away, that certainly is a good one. Though Cabo San Lucas did receive strong winds and rain and some power outages, hurricane Jimena has now kindly passed them by and, ultimately, what’s Cabo’s loss is your gain.
With the economy, news reports, and the weather all conspiring against the tourism industry, there are some really good deals available now. When booking travel to areas like Cabo, you are much more likely to find discounted flights or special offers on accommodations. You may not realize it but now is actually a great time to travel “south of the border” so, if you are lucky enough to be booking a vacation, do yourself a favor and look into Cabo San Lucas. Then do yourself a second favor and check out cabolaestancia.com where they work hard to give you the best in stay possible at the best rate possible
