Once again we find that Mexico is back in the news, this time tagged with a Travel Warning
Click here to read the current warning:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_mexico.html
The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico of concerns about the security situation in Mexico, and that it has authorized the departure of the dependents of U.S. government personnel from U.S. consulates in the Northern Mexican border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros until April 12.
We encourage people to use common sense when traveling anywhere, not just Mexico.
If you have any questions or concerns about your upcoming trip, please contact us!
Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Friday, June 5, 2009
Passports Now Required
Thank you to Travel Leaders for posting this informative article:
http://www.travelleaders.com/suntime/265835
Helpful links:
Here is the link to the U.S. Department of State website, with further info on the WHTI:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
Here is the link to more information about the U.S. Passport Card:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html
Applying for a NEW passport? Here is the link for these forms: (you do need to apply in person, but can fill out the forms in advance)
http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html
http://www.travelleaders.com/suntime/265835
Helpful links:
Here is the link to the U.S. Department of State website, with further info on the WHTI:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
Here is the link to more information about the U.S. Passport Card:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html
Applying for a NEW passport? Here is the link for these forms: (you do need to apply in person, but can fill out the forms in advance)
http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html
Friday, May 8, 2009
Swine Flu, just the facts
The Facts:
-- According to Mexico’s Health Minister, José Angel Córdova, of the 159 deaths reported during the flu outbreak in the country, only 16 were confirmed to be associated with the swine flu.
.......... Only 10% of the number originally stated by the media
.......... Population of Mexico City: 26.7 million people
.......... Relative percentage of people infected in Mexico City: 5 ten millionths of one percent
.......... The United States reports 38,000 deaths per year to the regular flu
-- According to Quintana Roo State Secretary of Tourism, no fatal cases of influenza have been reported in the main tourism destinations: Cancún, Riviera Maya, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit and Huatulco
-- The BBC has reported the influenza is in decline, according to Mexican Health Minister, Jose Cordova.
-- CNN reports, the health alert drop in Mexico City is a sign that Mexico City is successfully overcoming the influenza and the preventative actions taken are producing positive results, states Mexico City Mayor, Marcelo Ebrad.
-- The World Health Organization is NOT recommending travel restrictions. Scientific research indicates that restricting travel will be of limited or no benefit in stopping the spread of disease, according to the WHO.
-- CNN’s travel expert, Peter Greenberg states the H1N1 reporting has been blown out of proportion and has created an unnecessary ‘abundance of fear’. Watch the interview here.
Listen to what guests currently in Mexico are saying:
“If you watch the national media, you are misinformed.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsCL-WAdLSo
“If you're thinking about coming to Mexico, the rates are down, the airfare is cheap, so get down here before the rest of the country finds out.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sAw9ud5ZDs
-- According to Mexico’s Health Minister, José Angel Córdova, of the 159 deaths reported during the flu outbreak in the country, only 16 were confirmed to be associated with the swine flu.
.......... Only 10% of the number originally stated by the media
.......... Population of Mexico City: 26.7 million people
.......... Relative percentage of people infected in Mexico City: 5 ten millionths of one percent
.......... The United States reports 38,000 deaths per year to the regular flu
-- According to Quintana Roo State Secretary of Tourism, no fatal cases of influenza have been reported in the main tourism destinations: Cancún, Riviera Maya, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit and Huatulco
-- The BBC has reported the influenza is in decline, according to Mexican Health Minister, Jose Cordova.
-- CNN reports, the health alert drop in Mexico City is a sign that Mexico City is successfully overcoming the influenza and the preventative actions taken are producing positive results, states Mexico City Mayor, Marcelo Ebrad.
-- The World Health Organization is NOT recommending travel restrictions. Scientific research indicates that restricting travel will be of limited or no benefit in stopping the spread of disease, according to the WHO.
-- CNN’s travel expert, Peter Greenberg states the H1N1 reporting has been blown out of proportion and has created an unnecessary ‘abundance of fear’. Watch the interview here.
Listen to what guests currently in Mexico are saying:
“If you watch the national media, you are misinformed.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsCL-WAdLSo
“If you're thinking about coming to Mexico, the rates are down, the airfare is cheap, so get down here before the rest of the country finds out.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sAw9ud5ZDs
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Swine Flu --Perspective people.....perspective!
OK, we've all been overexposed to the media these past couple weeks, with all the constant -in your face- approaches to the swine flu. What, in reality, IS the impact that this is having?
I don't believe that the flu is what is spreading like wildfire, it's the media! It's once again being blown so far out of proportion, that some people actually are afraid to leave their homes! Yipes!
I just received this communication from GOGO, and I am finding it extremely informative, so hopefully this will help put some things into perspective.
-----------
Hi everyone- First and foremost, thank you for all of your support and hard work over the last few days – I know it has been very challenging. As always, the Mexico team’s goal is to provide you with honest, forthright information that you case share with your clients, both agents and end consumers. Here is the low down on our own experience, as well as the facts released from both the U.S. and Mexican Government. I am part of a task force on this issue, and I hope you will find this information useful – if there are other questions please let me know. Our goal is to provide as many facts as possible and have you come to your own conclusions.
WHAT IS SWINE FLU?
Swine flu is influenza, and as such people should take the typical precautions that they would with any other illness: Wash hands often, cover your mouth while coughing and stay home if you are sick. This having been said, the impact of the swine flu illness has been considerably smaller than the media has led us to believe. Read on……
RELATIVE PARAMETERS:
A) - Population of Mexico City – 26.7 million people. Deaths confirmed to be swine flu – 16 (see below)** Relative percentage 5 ten millionths of one percent
- Population of the United States 306 million people. Annual deaths associated to the flu 38,000. Relative percentage – 6 one millionths of one percent.
- Population of Asia 3.8 million people. Deaths associated to SARS -700 Relative percentage: 2 ten thousandths of one percent
B). Part of a press release from the Health Minister of Mexico which contains information of great importance:
“Mexico’s Health Minister, José Angel Córdova, **informed that of the 159 deaths occurred during the flu outbreak in the country, 85 remain as suspicious, 16 have been confirmed and in 58 there was no relation to the new virus.** In the case of the 16 deaths confirmed with swine flu, 11 were in México City, 3 in the State of México, one in Oaxaca and one in Tlaxcala.” The end result? Only 16 of the deaths have been 100% associated to swine flu – that is 10% of the number originally stated by the media.
C). No Confirmed cases of swine flu have been reported in any of the resort areas we work with. The Mexican Government is researching the information regarding the students that allegedly got swine flu in Cancun to research if it was indeed swine flu or the regular flu. No cases have been reported in the state of Quintana Roo at all – Cancun, Rivera Maya, Isla Mujeres and Cozumel. Please see attached letter from the State Government.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES TAKEN IN MEXICO CITY: as you have seen in the media, there has been distribution of face masks, a reduction in public gatherings, mall closures and cancellation of some public events, such as soccer matches. These were PREVENTATIVE measures, not reactions to an increase in the number of people getting sick. The media had a field day focusing on this - The Mexican government made some tough decisions in order to take the responsibility of curbing this illness as fast as possible. Know what people in Mexico City are saying today? They are dying of boredom because there is nothing to do! ( CBS Sunday Morning 5/3/09)
MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
Myself and 7 other people from HQ were down in Acapulco for a Trade Event from April 23 - 29th. Acapulco is a 3 hour drive from Mexico City. We did not see any sick persons or an escalation in health activity or impact of the flu in the area were we were - convention center, main roadways, restaurants etc. We were around 3,000 other participants in the trade show, many of them from Mexico City.
Am I discounting the swine flu? Absolutely not – I flew home on Wednesday and had a doctor's appointment set for Thursday morning. Which they promptly called to cancel! When I explained where I had been for a week and that there were 3,000 people in attendance, I was told that I could come to in speak to a doctor, but without exhibiting a fever or other systems, they would not give me a blood test, swab test or prescription for Tamiflu. I went to the doctor, who showed me the US State Department Guidelines, for giving flu tests or prescriptions, and they were pretty detailed. End result? The government instituted guidelines because people were “overreacting” to the information provided from the media, creating an “infodemic” and medical offices could no longer handle the volume……… P.S. Myself and the others are fine – other than having been a little stressed out! J
From the Palm Beach Post - PLEASE NOTE THIS IMPORTANT DEFINITION – the World Health Organization (WHO) uses the term pandemic (and its number scale) to refer only to geographic spread and not to the severity of cases an illness. The two most recent pandemics — in 1957 and 1968 — were relatively mild. When we went for a number 4 to a number 5, it was based on the number of countries it had spread to, not that the number of case had doubled or tripled.
5. THE END RESULT OF AN INFODEMIC: from a recent Travel Weekly Mexico E letter L
“ Although the scope and severity of the swine flu outbreak is still unclear, recent worldwide health scares have dealt a severe blow to tourism in affected countries. For example, during the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in parts of Asia, travel to the region plunged. SARS, which killed more than 700 people and sickened hundreds more, was blamed for a 20% reduction in air traffic to the region. Fearing the spread of SARS, some countries in Asia closed their borders to visitors from mainland China and Hong Kong, while others instituted strict health screenings at airports and border crossings.”
The impact on our Mexico business? More than 32,000 room nights and $6.1 M in cancelled or rebooked land sales, the majority for travel in May.
OUR RESPONSE – for the next 3 weeks we will gather additional information, and continue to communicate what we find. Then we will make some strategic decisions on how to begin promoting the Mexico product again. We are getting ready for a comeback!
As always, in traveling anywhere – even at home in the USA, exercise appropriate care where you are – and enjoy the destination and take back happy memories with you. Thank you and looking forward to your future support!
Colette Baruth Vice President of Product - Mexico & Latin America LibGo Travel, A Division of Flight Centre USA Inc
I don't believe that the flu is what is spreading like wildfire, it's the media! It's once again being blown so far out of proportion, that some people actually are afraid to leave their homes! Yipes!
I just received this communication from GOGO, and I am finding it extremely informative, so hopefully this will help put some things into perspective.
-----------
Hi everyone- First and foremost, thank you for all of your support and hard work over the last few days – I know it has been very challenging. As always, the Mexico team’s goal is to provide you with honest, forthright information that you case share with your clients, both agents and end consumers. Here is the low down on our own experience, as well as the facts released from both the U.S. and Mexican Government. I am part of a task force on this issue, and I hope you will find this information useful – if there are other questions please let me know. Our goal is to provide as many facts as possible and have you come to your own conclusions.
WHAT IS SWINE FLU?
Swine flu is influenza, and as such people should take the typical precautions that they would with any other illness: Wash hands often, cover your mouth while coughing and stay home if you are sick. This having been said, the impact of the swine flu illness has been considerably smaller than the media has led us to believe. Read on……
RELATIVE PARAMETERS:
A) - Population of Mexico City – 26.7 million people. Deaths confirmed to be swine flu – 16 (see below)** Relative percentage 5 ten millionths of one percent
- Population of the United States 306 million people. Annual deaths associated to the flu 38,000. Relative percentage – 6 one millionths of one percent.
- Population of Asia 3.8 million people. Deaths associated to SARS -700 Relative percentage: 2 ten thousandths of one percent
B). Part of a press release from the Health Minister of Mexico which contains information of great importance:
“Mexico’s Health Minister, José Angel Córdova, **informed that of the 159 deaths occurred during the flu outbreak in the country, 85 remain as suspicious, 16 have been confirmed and in 58 there was no relation to the new virus.** In the case of the 16 deaths confirmed with swine flu, 11 were in México City, 3 in the State of México, one in Oaxaca and one in Tlaxcala.” The end result? Only 16 of the deaths have been 100% associated to swine flu – that is 10% of the number originally stated by the media.
C). No Confirmed cases of swine flu have been reported in any of the resort areas we work with. The Mexican Government is researching the information regarding the students that allegedly got swine flu in Cancun to research if it was indeed swine flu or the regular flu. No cases have been reported in the state of Quintana Roo at all – Cancun, Rivera Maya, Isla Mujeres and Cozumel. Please see attached letter from the State Government.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES TAKEN IN MEXICO CITY: as you have seen in the media, there has been distribution of face masks, a reduction in public gatherings, mall closures and cancellation of some public events, such as soccer matches. These were PREVENTATIVE measures, not reactions to an increase in the number of people getting sick. The media had a field day focusing on this - The Mexican government made some tough decisions in order to take the responsibility of curbing this illness as fast as possible. Know what people in Mexico City are saying today? They are dying of boredom because there is nothing to do! ( CBS Sunday Morning 5/3/09)
MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
Myself and 7 other people from HQ were down in Acapulco for a Trade Event from April 23 - 29th. Acapulco is a 3 hour drive from Mexico City. We did not see any sick persons or an escalation in health activity or impact of the flu in the area were we were - convention center, main roadways, restaurants etc. We were around 3,000 other participants in the trade show, many of them from Mexico City.
Am I discounting the swine flu? Absolutely not – I flew home on Wednesday and had a doctor's appointment set for Thursday morning. Which they promptly called to cancel! When I explained where I had been for a week and that there were 3,000 people in attendance, I was told that I could come to in speak to a doctor, but without exhibiting a fever or other systems, they would not give me a blood test, swab test or prescription for Tamiflu. I went to the doctor, who showed me the US State Department Guidelines, for giving flu tests or prescriptions, and they were pretty detailed. End result? The government instituted guidelines because people were “overreacting” to the information provided from the media, creating an “infodemic” and medical offices could no longer handle the volume……… P.S. Myself and the others are fine – other than having been a little stressed out! J
From the Palm Beach Post - PLEASE NOTE THIS IMPORTANT DEFINITION – the World Health Organization (WHO) uses the term pandemic (and its number scale) to refer only to geographic spread and not to the severity of cases an illness. The two most recent pandemics — in 1957 and 1968 — were relatively mild. When we went for a number 4 to a number 5, it was based on the number of countries it had spread to, not that the number of case had doubled or tripled.
5. THE END RESULT OF AN INFODEMIC: from a recent Travel Weekly Mexico E letter L
“ Although the scope and severity of the swine flu outbreak is still unclear, recent worldwide health scares have dealt a severe blow to tourism in affected countries. For example, during the 2002-2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in parts of Asia, travel to the region plunged. SARS, which killed more than 700 people and sickened hundreds more, was blamed for a 20% reduction in air traffic to the region. Fearing the spread of SARS, some countries in Asia closed their borders to visitors from mainland China and Hong Kong, while others instituted strict health screenings at airports and border crossings.”
The impact on our Mexico business? More than 32,000 room nights and $6.1 M in cancelled or rebooked land sales, the majority for travel in May.
OUR RESPONSE – for the next 3 weeks we will gather additional information, and continue to communicate what we find. Then we will make some strategic decisions on how to begin promoting the Mexico product again. We are getting ready for a comeback!
As always, in traveling anywhere – even at home in the USA, exercise appropriate care where you are – and enjoy the destination and take back happy memories with you. Thank you and looking forward to your future support!
Colette Baruth Vice President of Product - Mexico & Latin America LibGo Travel, A Division of Flight Centre USA Inc
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What is really happening in Mexico? The REAL Story...
Thank you to Gogo WorldWide Vacations for this great info! Dated 3-24-09
We wanted to provide a full overview with respect to the recent update to the US state department alert regarding travel to Mexico There is a ton of misinformation out there, and it is very important that we work to educate you on what the real deal is. GOGO has been working with the Federal and local government to create tools that will help you to provide up- to-date, truthful information to respond to questions you may be receiving.
1. The State Department Alert is NOT NEW. It is only an update to an alert that was published over 12 months ago, and is simply to educate consumers on issues they should be informed on. The State Department has travel alerts published regarding travel to hundreds of countries in any given moment, and they can all be found on the State department website.
· “The US government issued an update to an existing Travel Alert. It has NOT issued a Travel Warning. The difference is significant and as Leslie Bassett, Business Representative of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico “…the alert does not intend in any way to discard Mexico as a tourist destination...”
2. What is the short answer on "What is happening in Mexico? "
NOTHING in the destinations we sell. Basically, the issue is associated to drug cartels and the extra pressure being placed on them by Mexican President Calderon. The areas that are affected are cities on the U.S./Mexico border, as that is the point of entry for drugs coming into the U.S. – these border towns include Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, and Nuevo Laredo. None of the issues are regarding the resort areas, which are safe and sound as you will see from information supplied further on in this email. The areas in questions are not resort areas, we don’t sell any product there, and they are literally THOUSANDS of miles away from the areas we do sell.
We wanted to provide a full overview with respect to the recent update to the US state department alert regarding travel to Mexico There is a ton of misinformation out there, and it is very important that we work to educate you on what the real deal is. GOGO has been working with the Federal and local government to create tools that will help you to provide up- to-date, truthful information to respond to questions you may be receiving.
1. The State Department Alert is NOT NEW. It is only an update to an alert that was published over 12 months ago, and is simply to educate consumers on issues they should be informed on. The State Department has travel alerts published regarding travel to hundreds of countries in any given moment, and they can all be found on the State department website.
· “The US government issued an update to an existing Travel Alert. It has NOT issued a Travel Warning. The difference is significant and as Leslie Bassett, Business Representative of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico “…the alert does not intend in any way to discard Mexico as a tourist destination...”
2. What is the short answer on "What is happening in Mexico? "
NOTHING in the destinations we sell. Basically, the issue is associated to drug cartels and the extra pressure being placed on them by Mexican President Calderon. The areas that are affected are cities on the U.S./Mexico border, as that is the point of entry for drugs coming into the U.S. – these border towns include Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, and Nuevo Laredo. None of the issues are regarding the resort areas, which are safe and sound as you will see from information supplied further on in this email. The areas in questions are not resort areas, we don’t sell any product there, and they are literally THOUSANDS of miles away from the areas we do sell.
See the map below:
3. Want to see feedback from spokespersons in the industry? Here is a great article written by Pauline Frommer..... http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=878358
4. A different perspective - Feedback on Bill O’Reilly’s recent commentary on TV: http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=3189
5. Want to see real time, real customer feedback? We have consumer testimonials from customers that were interviewed in various resort destinations LAST WEEK!
3. Want to see feedback from spokespersons in the industry? Here is a great article written by Pauline Frommer..... http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=878358
4. A different perspective - Feedback on Bill O’Reilly’s recent commentary on TV: http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=3189
5. Want to see real time, real customer feedback? We have consumer testimonials from customers that were interviewed in various resort destinations LAST WEEK!
6. For additional information and to keep updated, please go to http://www.mexico-update.com/ . There is a further enhanced map to the one above, where it shows mileage distances between all resort destinations. Just move your mouse over the map and the information will pop up. There is also information on anything being seen in the news, and the website is updated daily. Perfectly fine to send out to customers as well.
7. Your help is needed! The concern regarding travel to Mexico has been increased by the amount of misinformation that is out there. Please help spread the word on what is really happening and forward this information to anyone who has questions. We need to ensure that correct information is out there.
THIS IS HOW VISITORS ARE ENJOYING CANCUN TODAY.
Testimonial 3 (US Consul in Merida and US Visitors) URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_tPnygd-Ts
Testimonial 7 (US Consul in Merida: difference between Travel Warning and Travel Alert)URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldpeNlfrZak
Testimonial 1 (US visitor)URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_gJY5sbr88
Testimonial 2 (US visitors: couple) URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV0gxBQ0V1g
Testimonial 8 (US meeting planner)URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_baXLzdEaBM
From the Puerto Vallarta CVB: "We want to share with you the Testimonial Video of the Spring Breakers in Puerto Vallarta filmed this week"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=398XtV2O4WM
Travelers in Playa del Carmen:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJNDzaV0CzQ&feature=channel_page
https://webmail.libgotravel.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.whatisreallyhappeninginmexico.com/ -Various testimonials from all different Mexico Destiations of visitors there this week and last week.
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