Texas issues Mexican spring break travel warning

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has warned students to avoid visiting Mexico for the Spring Break in the wake of fresh killings and drug-related violence in the country.

Avoid traveling in Mexico during Spring Break and stay alive, DPS said in a statement, adding that about 65 Americans were killed in Mexico last year, during drug war violence.

While local media reported of cancellations of trips to Acapulco, the top spring break destination in Mexico, tour operators say that such warnings for an entire country is affecting the tourism business of famous destinations in Mexico.

Foreign tourism during spring break is a major source of revenues in Mexico. However, the incidents of beheadings and shootings have taken their toll on the Mexican holiday industry.

According to the Embassy of the United States, Mexico, on January 23, a couple from Texas were attacked at an illegal roadblock by gunmen; on January 29, a man was shot in the head by suspected cartel gunmen in downtown Nuevo Laredo. More recently on February 15, one U.S. government employee was murdered and another seriously wounded in an attack while traveling in a U.S. government vehicle on Mexican Highway 57 near Santa Maria del Rio, San Luis Potosi.

The US Department of State's figures show that millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year. According to the Department of State, the Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations.

Though the Department of State maintains that resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major drug trafficking routes, it warns citizens to be aware of the security situation.

It is imperative that U.S. citizens understand the risks involved in travel to Mexico, it said.