Widely publicized drug cartel violence has obviously not hurt the tourism industry, which has increased more than two percent in the first five months of this year, compared to 2010, according to the US Department of Commerce.
Mexico also remains the top destination for Americans traveling abroad, says the government.
However, statistics from the US Department of Commerce show that fewer Americans are traveling abroad, but a bigger percentage of those who do are going to Mexico.
Mexico also reported double-digit increases in the percentage of visitors from Russia, Brazil and China, among others.
"The data doesn't lie," Mexico's deputy secretary for tourism, Ricardo Anaya, told CNN. "Tourists keep choosing Mexico."
The violence is limited to certain geographic areas that can be avoided by tourists, says Anaya, in a statement that has become common among Mexican tourist authorities as the drug issue has escalated.
The border area, for example, where much violence has been recorded, is 1,200 miles from the resort town of Cancun — that's like avoiding travel to Houston because of problems in New York, Anaya said.
According to surveys by Mexican tourism authorities, 98 percent of those who do visit Mexico say they will come back, and 99 percent recommend it to others.
By David Wilkening
