Canadian tourists undeterred by Mexico violence

Reports of murder, rape and violence against travellers in Mexico, as well as drug-related violence along the U.S. border, have not deterred Canadian tourists from seeking hot travel deals to the popular winter destination.

A B.C. man was shot in the leg in Mazatlan, Mexico, Tuesday, as he tried to protect his wife after gunfire broke out at a market they were visiting.

Mike DiLorenzo, 69, of Penticton, underwent surgery for the gunshot wound. He is recovering in hospital after a metal plate was inserted in his leg, which was shattered above the knee. His wife, Serafina, was not injured in the attack.

This followed reports of a Canadian woman who alleges that Mexican police gang-raped her in jail after she and her fianc were arrested while on vacation in Mexico for New Year's Eve.

Rebecca Rutland, 41, said police in the Mexican resort town of Playa del Carmen took the Ontario couple into custody in the late hours of Dec. 31, after which officers took turns raping her. Rutland and her fianc, Richard Coleman, 51, of Toronto, also allege officers robbed them of hundreds of dollars and other valuables.

Earlier this month, a Montreal police officer said he was badly beaten by suspected biker gang members while on vacation in Mexico.

But the reports of violence against Canadian tourists is not preventing sun seekers from booking Mexican deals. Industry experts said tourism has doubled to the area in the past few years.

Part of the reason is that most resorts are contracted in U.S. dollars and with the Canadian currency hovering at parity, Canadians can get good value.

"With our dollar pretty much at parity, what we're seeing is fantastic rates," said Janine Chapman of Sell Off Vacations based in Toronto. "And what we're seeing is a lot of new resorts. There's a lot of development happening in Mexico and when you get new resorts you get introductory rates."

Chapman also said resorts are cutting rates as Americans are scared off by constant news coverage of the drug wars along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Chapman said the public and the media need to keep in perspective the small number of incidents that happen and the more than one million Canadians who visit each year.

Caution advised

Brad Miron of itravel2000 said Canadians need to know that the drug violence is far from the tourist beaches.

"Some of the challenges like the drug wars that are happening in Mexico are up along the U.S.-Mexican border in cities like Tijuana and Juarez," he said. "These are about 3,600 kilometres away from each other so there are some quite great distances there."

The Canadian government is warning people to avoid northern Mexico, the region hardest hit by the drug wars. For tourist regions around Cancun, Ottawa simply advises a high degree of caution.

"While most major tourist areas have not been affected by the extreme levels of violence witnessed in the northern border region, it is highly advisable to travel to Mexico by air," Canada's Foreign Affairs Department says on its website. "High levels of criminal activity, as well as occasional demonstrations and protests, remain a concern throughout the country."

The crime and recent warnings have not kept away Canadians like Jim Whaley, who travelled with his family to the Mayan Riviera.

"There's definitely good deals this year," he said. "We got a screaming deal. What we paid for an all-inclusive this week, used to cost me my flight."