With spring break upon the Park, plans for traveling are unfolding. However, just because students are ready for vacation doesn’t mean the destination is prepared to welcome them.
Mexico has been under fire recently as of February 22 when Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, otherwise known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was killed by the Mexican government.
Following the operation, turmoil swept throughout the country, causing transportation and travel to be significantly disrupted.
Popular cruise lines such as Carnival Corp. and Norwegian cruise line, both cancelled their plans to stop in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Multiple airlines also canceled flights amongst the immediate danger but were resumed as of February 24.
While popular tourist places in Mexico such as Cancun are generally considered safer, that does not mean touring them is risk free.
Lily Hess, a Salem senior who is traveling to Cancun, shared her planning process for the upcoming break. “We had an agent plan our trip. She’s a family friend and so my mom just ended up emailing her and asking her, ‘Hey, is this concerning?’” Hess said.
The agent reassured Hess and her family that since the distance from Puerto Vallarta and Cancun is 1,544 miles, it is safe to go.
“[The travel agent] used the reference, ‘If something was happening in Detroit, would you not go to Los Angeles?’” Hess said.
Hess said she is more concerned about travel logistics than safety at the destination. “I’m not really too concerned about when we actually get there, just because it’s so far from Puerto Vallarta. But I’m just more worried about getting there and then getting home,” Hess said.
Other families made different decisions. Samantha Oberliesen, mother of Canton senior Dillon Oberliesen, said her family ultimately changed their plans of traveling from Cancun, Mexico, to Miami, Florida, after repeated flight cancellations. “Right from the get-go of getting the tickets we were getting cancellations and we were getting moved around. Our flights were getting moved around. It was just causing a lot of stress and anxiety.”
Before the cancellation, multiple efforts were made to try and keep the original destination. “At first we tried to work around them and we were trying to adjust our schedules,” she said. “We couldn’t keep that up because they just kept cancelling even rescheduled flights,” Samantha Oberliesen said.
As a parent, her main factor for relocating was wanting to stay inside the United States. “I am happy to travel outside of the country usually and have done it many times, but right now it just felt better to keep him in the country and not worry about travel outside the country,” Samantha Oberliesen said.
As for Dillon Oberliesen, his feelings regarding the new destination are bittersweet. “It’s definitely a little bit worse. But, I’m just super excited.” Dillon Oberliesen said.
“We kind of thought Florida would be the next best option, because it was similar to Cancun, but then it’s also in the country, so there’s less problems with traveling because recently there’s been problems with going to foreign countries,” Dillon Oberliesen said.
Traveling alone was one of Dillon Oberliesen’s worries regarding his trip. He said, “My family wasn’t going, which definitely made it a little bit more scary. They were a little bit more scared about me going, especially, what was happening right at the time.”
Regardless of the destination, Dillon Oberliesen believes his spring break trip to Miami is still “going to be a ton of fun.”
If students are traveling for spring break, it’s encouraged to research destinations and take the necessary safety precautions in order to lower the risks that come with vacationing. For international travel, AAA suggests, “travelers to refer to the Worldwide Caution list, which and take the appropriate steps to bolster personal security.” Staying near or in the resort is just one suggestion to ensure the safest and most fun experience for a trip.
“Obviously, we’re not going to leave the resort unless it’s like–I think we might go on an excursion, which is just snorkeling. But pretty much, we’re just staying in the resort,” Hess said.
