Americans heed Mexico travel warning as Europeans, Canadians and Australians ... trends now
It seems like Australians are now rushing in where Americans fear to tread.
International sunseekers from Down Under, Canada, and Europe have supplanted US college students and tourists in the Mexican Caribbean state of Quintana Roo – where Americans have traditionally flocked for Spring Break – until a travel warning from the Biden administration put a chill on the holiday revelry, DailyMail.com can reveal.
US officials warned last week that 'crime in Mexico occurs at a high rate and can be violent, from random street crime to cartel-related attacks.'
Emily Doe, 28, of Perth, who was among the Australians who traveled to the Mexican party resort of Cancún for a week of boozy fun, said she wasn't worried about cartel abductions or violence during her trip
DailyMail.com visited the popular holiday destination where American college students usually flock to for Spring Break and encountered other international sunseekers reveling on the beach
On the main club strip in Cancún's Hotel Zone, clubs like Coco Bongo (pictured) the Mandala Beach Club, Señor Frog's were popular choices for pool parties and drinking events
Americans appeared to be heeding that warning last week. They seemed in short supply in Cancún for the holiday season, but the advisory couldn't dampen the party spirit on Kukulacán Boulevard in the Hotel Zone.
Emily Doe, 28, of Perth, Australia, sporting a fluorescent teal bikini top and a sarong, frolicked in front of the giant guitar that marks the Hard Rock Café with a group of Aussies who had flown in for a group vacation.
She hadn't heard about the travel warning, but she said she wasn't worried about kidnapping or cartel violence.
'I'd like to see them try,' she said.
Her group had just stepped out of Grand Oasis where they were doing some day drinking.
'You only live once,' Doe said. 'What are the odds of anything happening?'
Cancún has seen a nearly 30% spike in international tourism over the winter months since the same period last year, according to the Cancún Chamber of Commerce.
More than 3.3million foreign tourists flooded into the country in January, up from roughly 2.6million last year.
Revelers were seen wearing balloon animals, novelty masks, and other party accessories as they let loose
The boozy event saw young partygoers climbing onto platforms to give their best dance performance to the crowd
Photos show dozens of bikini-clad women and young men releasing their inhibitions and dancing wildly in the pool
While Americans appeared to have heeded the government's advice against traveling to Mexico, they were supplanted by tourists from other parts of the world
Doe, who was traveling with a group of 50 other Aussies from Western Australia, said she worried more about 'cooked c**ts' and frat boys. 'It's disgusting. Get rid of the 'roids,' she said of the latter.
On the main club strip in the Hotel Zone, near clubs like Coco Bongo, the Mandala Beach Club and Señor Frog's, partiers from the U.K., France and Germany stumbled around, squeezing themselves into venues where they could be seen doing the bump and grind.
Hawkers pushing drugs, prostitutes and strip clubs nearly outnumbered the tourists. On the side streets, men tried to make eye contact and then tapped the side of their noses.
Doe said she was well prepared for anything.
She said her mother used to test her ability to avoid getting kidnapped by drilling in their garden back in Perth. Her mother would hide in the bushes with homemade pepper spray and jump out to spray her and she would have to run away.
Despite the threat of cartel violence and crime, Cancún has seen a nearly 30% spike in international tourism over the winter months since the same period last year
While there were some Americans present in the revelry, they were greatly outnumbered by Australian, Canadian and European tourists
'I'm well prepared,' she said. Her mom also advised her to watch YouTube videos on escaping from cable ties.
'It's all about breaking your thumbs,' she joked.
Most of the international crowd said they were unaware that the U.S. had considered the Mayan Riviera a danger zone.
The State Department issued the travel warning after four Americans from South Carolina were kidnapped and two of them were killed after they crossed into Mexico at Brownsville, Texas into the city of Matamoros which is controlled by the Gulf Cartel.
There are four major drug cartels that operate in Mexico in addition to the Gulf Cartel: the Tijuana Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Juárez Cartel and the Guadalajara Cartel.
They operate mostly on the border with the U.S. and in the Northern part of the country. It's
