Massive Discounts on Your Dream Vacation

What to do when there’s worry in the air? Go on vacation, of course.

A few weeks ago, when news of the flu epidemic in Mexico was at its loudest and most frantic, we started planning a weekend getaway to Tulum on the Riviera Maya. Glynna Prentice, your Mexico editor who lives in Campeche, traveled to the cool mountains of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. Expat friends in Playa del Carmen packed up their teenage kids and headed for the culturally rich colonial city of Morelia and nearby Lake Patzcuaro. Another friend just returned from little Isla Mujeres, off the coast from Cancun.

You see, most of Mexico is flu free. Most of the country’s largest tourist destinations, in fact--Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Zihuatanejo and Los Cabos, as well as the Caribbean island of Cozumel, Mexico’s leading port of call for cruise ships--have not had a single confirmed case of the flu. (By the way, the U.S. and other countries have now lifted travel advisories for Mexico.)

At beach destinations where there were confirmed cases (Cancun had seven and Acapulco eight), those cases date back more than three weeks, to April 28--far longer than the incubation period. Even so, foreign tourists are skittish. There have been massive hotel cancellations. Officials say the lack of business has forced 25 or more hotels in and around Cancun to temporarily close their doors. This is a terrible blow to employees…who won’t get paid for this time off. Restaurants, tour operators and others who are dependent on tourists are suffering, too.

But the tourism industry and the Mexican government is fighting back. And that means travel bargains. Big ones, in fact.

The government is embarking on a multi-million-dollar marketing campaign to bring tourists back and is cutting taxes by 50% for cruise and airline companies to allow them to drop prices for Mexico travel.

You’ll find all-inclusive packages at all-time low prices, too, and hotels offering a free night if you stay for three nights or more. And you’ll benefit from big discounts at restaurants, on entertainment and spa packages, and more.

In one particularly creative campaign, several four- and five-star hotels in Cancun and the Riviera Maya are offering to fully refund travelers’ vacation expenses if they contract the new virus as a result of their stay at one of these resorts. And if that happens…they’ll also give you free vacation packages for the next three years. (See http://www.realresorts.com/)

Why would they do this? Because they’re certain you won’t come down with the flu. They feel it’s a very safe bet.

As for us, so far we’ve been offered discounts of 15% - 30% for our weekend getaway to Tulum…and that’s on top of already low-season discounts. So come this weekend…you’ll find us swinging in a hammock overlooking one of the world’s best beaches (according to both us and the Travel Channel)…book in one hand, cold cerveza in the other.

Suzan Haskins
Latin America Editorial Director, International Living

P.S. Watch for more travel bargains to Mexico in coming months. And mark your calendar for our Live & Invest in Mexico Seminar in Puerto Vallarta November 12-14. There has never been a better time in your lifetime to be in Mexico! For more information about this event, e-mail Events@InternationalLiving.com.

To read more IL articles about Mexico, see:

Retire Early and Open Your Own B&B in Paradise

Mexico--Where Anyone Can Afford a Full-time Maid

Seek Out--and Enjoy--a Local Expat Community