An article by Jim Scherrer

The Facts Concerning Violent Crimes Committed Against US Tourists in Mexico 
By Jim Scherrer PVREBA
 

Since shocking and misleading headlines such as "Mexico the Most Dangerous Country for Americans" are designed to be attention grabbing, tourists that read such nonsense might want to do their homework before considering vacation destinations in Mexico; they must understand the facts and not be frightened by ridiculous fear tactics put forth by those with ulterior motives.
 

As 13 year residents of Puerto Vallarta, we can attest to the safety of this magnificent resort destination south of the border where the possession of hand guns is prohibited and violent crime is virtually nonexistent. For proof of this claim, we'll first determine the number of US citizens that visit PV annually and then get the facts related to violent crime in the area. Totaling conservative numbers, we find that at least 1.5 million tourists from the US visit Vallarta annually.  Now, let's return to the data from the US Department of State. You will notice that during 2008, there were merely five non natural deaths of US visitors in Puerto Vallarta and only one was a homicide. That's one violent death out of 1.5 million visitors for the year or less than 0.7 per million.
 

According to US government provided data, the US has 6.2 violent deaths annually per 100,000 residents. In other words, we have 62 homicides or violent crimes resulting in death per million residents in the US, or 93 homicides per 1.5 million; i.e., 93 times as many as in Puerto Vallarta!
 

There have been plenty of knowledgeable folks that have read preposterous articles and they too, are voicing their opinions and commenting on websites. For the most part, these are people with intimate knowledge of Mexico and if it were dangerous for Americans in Mexico, they probably wouldn´t be living or vacationing there on a routine basis.
 

In summarizing, the next time someone insinuates that traveling to or vacationing in Mexico is dangerous for Americans, you can present the facts to them. Hopefully, after reviewing this analytical approach with the documented facts and figures provided by the US government, you'll feel much more comfortable and inclined to visit our beautiful Paradise south of the border.
 

After all, Mexico enjoys 20 million US tourists annually while Canada has 13 million, the UK has 3 million and both Italy and France have 2 million, i.e. Mexico has almost as many US visitors as the next four countries combined.
 

Jim Scherrer - Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Buyers' Agents and PVREBA