Financial hit: Tourist revenue dropped 15% to $11.2 billion in 2009 from the prior year, while the number of tourists declined almost 5% to 21.5 million, according to Mexico's Tourism Board, but the group blames much of that drop-off on 2009's H1N1 pandemic. The National Tourism Confederation, a Mexican travel industry trade group, projects 2010 revenue will rebound to $13.3 billion, with 22.8 million visitors.
The response: Travel experts want to remind tourists that Mexico is a big country -- bigger than its border. David Lytle, editorial director of Frommers.com, says that avoiding Mexico because of drug violence "is like saying don't go to the U.S. because there are troubles in a city there." Destinations further south, like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Isla Mujeres on the Yucatan peninsula, are safer.
The reality: Lonely Planet editor Robert Reid says his favorite city is Merida, an off-the-beaten path inland city with weekly street festivals. "One of the great things about being in the U.S. is that you're close to Mexico, because it's so diverse, it's so wonderful," he says.
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