Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela appeared several times on a list of places with beaches dangerous to tourists because of a high level of violence, pollution, or the presence of dangerous species, according to research done by the World Tourism Organization, governments of different countries, and websites specialized in travel.
The increase of the number of robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults to tourists has raised red flags in organizations such as the Department of Foreign Affairs of Canada and the American government. Both of them warned their citizens about the dangers of traveling to these countries.
In the case of Mexico, the government of Canada has recommended not traveling to certain areas, meanwhile, the US government released different alerts for their citizens to avoid the Aztecan territory.
Two Mexican beaches are considered very dangerous for tourists as well. The first one is the beach in Acapulco, in the state of Guerrero. The attack of six Spanish citizens in February, while they were resting in their bungalows, was worldwide news that even motivated Guerrero’s governor, Angel Aguirre Rivero, and the mayor, Luis Walton Aburto, to immediately start investigations to find those responsible.
Last year, there were over a thousand homicides and an average of 30 crimes per month in Guerrero state, so in March, the Government of Spain warned its citizens to refrain from visiting the port. Acapulco was named the second most dangerous city in the world, after San Pedro Sula in Honduras.
Another Mexican beach is Playa Zipolite, in the state of Oaxaca, considered by some the most famous nude beach in the world. However, the travel supplement of the British newspaper The Independent named it one of the world's 10 most dangerous beaches because of its high waves that caused the death of numerous tourists who drowned.
According to the newspaper, every two years an average of 180 tourists have to be rescued from the sea by lifeguards. Moreover, it also records an average of 12 shark attacks a year.
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Mexico is a dangerous country to travel to period! A shocking 32% of all non-natural deaths of U.S. citizen’s outside this country occur in Mexico. Many of these deaths happen inside of the resorts and are a direct result of poor or nonexistent safety standards.