Nations of the world look to travel and leisure to turn a handsome profit each year.Mexico is no exception. The second-largest Latin American economy depends intensely upon an influx of tourists, the vast majority coming from the United States.To most tourists, a getaway in Mexico means something at a luxury beachfront resort.Reuters reports that the latest brand of Mexican excursion is far off the beaten path, nevertheless.”Danger tourism” that takes thrill-seekers into the maelstrom of sex, drugs and open violence of the current drug war is all the rage.
Risk tourism seriously isn’t for an average Joe
While many people are appalled by the idea of spending their hard-earned dollars on vacations that would place them in severe risk of bodily harm, macabre thrill-seekers find travel agencies that offer the choice of hazard vacation.By taking advantage of fringe travel agencies, tourists can run with Zapatista rebels. They can also witness the carnage of the drug war up close.Or, if running with street gangs and pickpockets is more to tourists’ liking, they can go undercover in such dangerous areas of Mexico City as the Tepito underground, where drug deals, underage prostitution and other illegal acts are commonplace.Cesar Estrada, proprietor of Universal Travel, indicated to Reuters that despite the very real chance that tourists could be robbed at gunpoint, such danger travel and leisure is quite popular.
”We tell visitors to dress simply. If they want pictures, our guides take them discreetly,” Estrada told Reuters.
See the ‘real’ Mexico today!
Risk tourist grants the daring “the kind of insight into the real Mexico one could not get in a beach resort like Cancún,” said tourist Donata Von Salviati to Reuters.All it takes is 200 pesos ($ 15) to hire a guide to run a tourist through the exact exact same experience as illegal migrants, complete with nighttime flight over dusty roads, sagebrush, bear traps, rivers and more.No food or water is permitted, as the tourist transforms into human traffic.Make a run for the border with all of speed, for those who lag behind are picked up by fake immigration trucks in violent fashion.
Just how much does Mexico acquire?
Danger vacation is nevertheless a bit of a wild card for Mexico’s economy, as outlined by Reuters.When one considers that nine percent of Mexico’s overall economy depends upon travel and leisure dollars, risk tourism couldn’t be anything other than a shot in the arm, despite the ravages of the drug war.As Martha Stuart says, “It’s a good thing” – unless too many tourists are caught in the crosshairs, that is.
Further reading
Reuters
reuters.com/article/idUSN2463303
