Do not wander off the resort after dark. Keep flashy clothes and jewelry to a minimum. Stay aware of your surroundings. These are some of the travel rules that Ginger Moore, a retired logistics analyst from Panama City, Florida, follows on her solo travels throughout the Caribbean.
Mrs Moore, 75, has always felt safe during her stay in Jamaica, where she returns for the fourth time on Wednesday. But this year, while she’s still happy to take a trip, a travel advisory for Jamaica reissued in January by the US State Department has added to her concerns.
“I’m sure there are places, like the United States, that you can go into that are not recommended,” Ms Moore said. Still, she’s taken new precautions for her upcoming trip, including packing extra health supplies and buying a safety bar for her hotel room’s sliding patio door.
In recent weeks, the State Department and U.S. Embassies have issued new and updated advisories urging travelers to Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas — some of the most popular spring break destinations — to be extra cautious after recent violent events, some in tourist areas. Safety experts suggest the advice is largely consistent with advice from previous years.
Caroline Hammer, global security analyst at risk intelligence firm RANE, said tourists should interpret the advice as warnings to be careful and avoid specific crime hotspots, but not as a blanket rule to limit travel anywhere in the region.
What do the travel warnings say?
Warnings about spring break travel to some parts of Mexico came in recent days, while safety alerts and updated travel advisories for Jamaica and the Bahamas were issued in late January.
The State Department has ranked Jamaica at Level 3 from 2022, advising visitors to “reconsider travel” due to incidents of violent crime. The agency reissued the travel advisory in January to also warn tourists about accessing medical services and warned that “sexual assaults occur frequently, even at all-inclusive resorts.”
Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaica’s minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, said in a statement released two days later that the country had made “serious improvements” in its crime-fighting and health-care infrastructure and disagreed with the scope of the advisory.
“The Government of Jamaica is disappointed that the language being used does not reflect the significant progress our country has made,” he said.
Figures from the Jamaican National Police show that as of March 1, several types of crime, including murder, burglary and rape, were down compared to the same period in 2023, although shootings and assaults were up.
In the Bahamas, gang violence and a number of murders have prompted US officials to urge tourists to “exercise increased caution”, especially in the cities of Nassau and Freeport. Pleasure boat tours, jet ski rentals and other water activities are unevenly regulated, the advisory further notes, and have led to injuries and deaths.
In early February, two female travelers said their drinks had spiked during a cruise stop in the Bahamas and accused resort staff of sexual assault.
Last week, in a statement specifically discussing spring break travel, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico reiterated the precautions outlined in a State Department travel advisory, last updated this summer, issued because of crime and kidnappings . He reminded tourists to be careful when visiting the central areas of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, all in the state of Quintana Roo.
The advice also recommends traveling on toll roads during daylight hours and staying close to major cities, which have an increased police presence and other emergency services.
What is behind the warning in Mexico?
Organized crime groups in Mexico largely keep violent activity outside resorts to avoid damaging the tourism industry, said Ms Hammer, from RANE. The cartels, he said, depend on the tourists themselves, selling drugs to visitors and extorting local businesses, and it would prompt an increased response from the Mexican government.
In 2023, tourists spent nearly $3.1 billion in Mexico, up 10 percent from 2022, according to tourism ministry data, with many travelers bound for Cancun.
A handful of violent incidents last year included the kidnapping of two Americans who had crossed the border near Brownsville, Texas, and were found dead, as well as heated disputes between rival taxi and Uber drivers in Cancun. The violence came after a series of shootings and killings in late 2021 and early 2022 that rocked tourists along the Riviera Maya.
“The good news is that these incidents that have been reported inside resorts are extremely, extremely rare,” Ms Hammer said.
In its latest advisory, the State Department warns that shootings by rival gangs, “while not directed at tourists,” have caught some in the crossfire, even at resorts. Last month, an American woman was killed during a drug-related shooting at a beach club in Tulum. Prosecutors in Quintana Roo said she was a transient.
Despite these incidents, the safety picture in Mexico has generally remained unchanged, said Zachary Rabinor, founder and president of Journey Mexico, a luxury travel company.
“A lot of these are kind of general, stereotypical fears,” he said, adding that tourists should not interpret violent incidents as sweeping events, especially in resort destinations that are more popular with visitors.
“Certainly there are still areas that are problematic, but in general, they are not where tourists go,” Mr. Rabinor said.
What’s behind the warning for the Bahamas?
In January, Bahamas President Philip Davis shared his government’s plan to stamp out criminal activity following a spate of murders, mostly gang-related.
“If you choose crime, you will face the full weight and force of the law,” Mr Davis said during a national address on 24 January. The cautionary tone was a sharp turn from a celebratory moment just a month earlier, when the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism announced that the country had hit a record eight million travelers in 2023.
As police battle crime at the resorts, the Bahamas’ foreign ministry said in a statement released shortly after the US Embassy’s warning that the country did not believe tourists were at a new “high or increased security risk”.
What can you do to stay safe?
Effective safety measures can be as simple as staying alert and planning ahead by purchasing travel insurance and updating emergency contact lists. Other general steps suggested in the advisory include avoiding walking or driving through resort areas at night, avoiding public transportation and following local laws.
The high volume of travelers around spring break can cause tourism police forces, where they have them, to respond more slowly to emergency calls, warned Ms Hammer of the RANE network.
Arranging transportation through a tour company or resort for tours or airport trips is highly recommended, said Scott Stewart, vice president of information at security firm TorchStone Global.
“A lot of times, there isn’t a big gap between criminals and taxi drivers in many countries, so using a reliable transport provider is huge,” Mr Stewart said.
He also recommends “traveling gray,” a term used in security circles for keeping a low profile, such as not displaying luxury items that might attract the attention of criminals.
The State Department’s reissued warning raised concerns for Ms. Moore, the traveler headed to Jamaica, but did not deter her from making the trip.
“In the tourist areas, I feel very comfortable,” he said. “I’ve just never had a bad experience, knock on wood, and I love Jamaica. That’s why I keep coming back.”
Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and subscribe to the Travel Dispatch weekly newsletter to get expert tips to travel smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming of a future getaway or just an armchair trip? Take a look at ours 52 places to go in 2024.
