Tourism vital for Mexico’s economy

In spite of a lack of action from the Mexican government, Los Cabos has created its own COVID safe zone. (Ron Pradinuk / Winnipeg Free Press)

After a recent article I wrote relating to Cuba’s Covid vaccination program, I received a number of inquiries relating to Mexico—and its success or lack of in controlling the spread of Covid.

From the outset the president of Mexico was not a leader who took the spread of the virus seriously—and he did little to close down anything. Nor did he aggressively promote the wearing of masks or limiting crowd sizes.

As a result, Mexico has had almost 3.7 million Covid cases — and over 275 thousand deaths. However, the general belief is that those numbers are vastly undercounted—since the country has never pursued a strong testing program—and many more Covid deaths may not have been attributed to the virus.

To date only 35 per cent of the Mexican population has been fully vaccinated — far below what it should be. However, many of the cities and tourist regions have taken it upon themselves to pass rigid rules to help control the spread—and encourage more vaccinations.

One of these cities, and regions, is Los Cabos — where over 80 per cent of the residents have received at least on Covid shot — while social distancing, capacity limits, and mandatory indoor mask mandates are part of their dedicated effort to make it as safe as possible for tourists to visit. Tourism is absolutely vital for their economy.

“Travel is being reimagined, and health and safety have become the priority in our continued commitment to providing a safer environment for everyone,” Rodrigo Esponda, Managing Director of Los Cabos Tourism Board explained. “Our tourism stakeholders and partners have a strong responsibility to providing a safer way to get away.”

Puerto Vallarta and the State of Jalisco have instituted similar measures. I have had similar reports about Mazatlán and some of the other most popular Mexican tourist destinations.

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