Querétaro, Mexico / photo: Jim Ferri
By Bridget Gleeson
Budget Travel
To go or not to go … that is the question, indeed, if you’re savvy enough to know that places that make headlines for the wrong reasons — natural disasters, political unrest, problems with a nuclear power plant — can also become travel bargains. We help you weigh the pros and the cons to determine when to cash in on that discount, and when to wait.
Mexico
Kidnapping, carjacking, extortion, gang wars — it’s not news that Mexico has had issues. In April, the U.S. Department of State warned Americans against traveling to the states of Tamaulipas and Michoacán, plus parts of the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, and Jalisco.
This year, there were nearly 900 gang-related killings in the Pacific resort town of Acapulco — but this is considered a major exception. Most tourist-popular areas, such as Mexico City and the resorts of the Riviera Maya, are considered safe for travelers. (In fact, statistics show that these regions saw even less crime in 2010, per capita, than Orlando and Washington, D.C.) Mexico’s government is increasing military security at new government checkpoints, especially in border areas, and its tourist board is fighting all the negative press by flying U.S. travel agents to Cancún to see for themselves that the sandy white beaches in tourist areas remain perfectly calm — except for when the spring-breakers roll into town, of course.
To Go or Not to Go? Go — but only to destinations approved by the U.S. Department of State.
Japan
In March 2011, a 9-magnitude earthquake — the strongest ever recorded on the island — caused massive destruction in Japan. The ensuing tsunami that slammed the northeast coast claimed thousands of lives; the massive meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has caused ongoing problems, as significant radiation has been released into nearby areas.
Naturally, the tourism industry was hit hard, too. According to Mat Eccles of InsideJapan Tours, plenty of tourists canceled their trips to Japan after the disaster, but “many chose to take advantage of our offer to postpone their trips, to give Japan time to get back on its feet and recover. Almost all of those clients have now reorganized their trips.” Though he confirms that tourism to Japan has been down, he’s already seeing an upswing. “Over the past three to four months, the level of inquiries and bookings has been picking up significantly,” Eccles says. “I’ve recently booked trips from the wilds of the northern island of Hokkaido to the primeval forests of Yakushima Island, and everything in between.”
To Go or Not to Go? Go — just nowhere within 50 miles of the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the north (the popular cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka are all fine).
