Are you ready to rebook your Mexican holiday?

Precautions for the H1N1 swine flu virus seem to be easing a bit now. There was so much attention paid when schools and businesses were closing, but is Mexico’s attempt to return to normalcy falling on deaf ears?  On Wednesday, Mexico’s first lady, Margarita Zavala, greeted dozens of passengers at Mexico City International Airport as they arrived on a government-charted Aeromexico flight. Several Mexican tourists had been quarantined in China at hospitals and hotels despite showing no signs of flu symptoms. Businesses began to reopen Thursday, with restaurants seating at every other table and movie theaters leaving a circle of empty seats around customers. But how long will it take for business to be business as usual - especially in the tourism industry? At the end of the Los Angeles Times article “Mexico’s return to normalcy anything but,” we were left thinking about this quote:

“The reality,” said Mexican epidemiologist Dr. Alejandro Macias, “is we are not returning to normal. The virus is here to stay. It’s here for months, probably years.”

But what is the vibe among tourists traveling to Mexico? You tell me. Are you going or not going to Mexico this summer?

This morning, Chris Christensen of the Amateur Traveler podcast, put a post on Twitter saying, “Am I crazy that I would hop right back on a plane and go to Oaxaca, even last week with the swine flu hysteria?”

But Los Angeles Times Travel Editor Catharine Hamm is fielding related questions including one from a reader who is concerned about keeping her August travel plans to Mexico. (Read: Cancel your Mexico trip over the flu?)

Mexican holiday alternatives

Triporati: They have a Web page that shows travel destination alternatives for select holiday hotspots in Mexico. For example, if you were thinking about a trip to Cancun, Triporati suggests a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, or the U.S. Virgin Islands as an alternative. Triporati takes the activities that their experts have rated and matches them up destination for destination. For example, Cancun rated high for  sunbathing, beach activities, swimming and cruising, so you can select one of the Triporati alternate destinations that have also ranked high in the same activities. Of course, you’ll see some crossover between the Mexican cities since there are  a lot of great beaches in Mexico, but keep clicking through the Mexican cities and you’ll find destinations like Colombia, Honduras or St. Croix that you might not have considered.

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 8, 2009 at 11:22 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Healthy Traveler, Mexico, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.