Travellers check the status of their flights at Toronto's Pearson Airport on Monday. U.S. policies are causing regional upheaval that is rocking the travel industry, experts say.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Violence in Mexico over the weekend is the latest example of geopolitical disruptions linked to the Trump administration’s policies that are roiling Canadian travel.
The high-profile killing of cartel leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes by the Mexican military on Sunday, which triggered violence in the popular beach resort city of Puerto Vallarta, came after pressure from the White House to crack down on drug trafficking.
At the beginning of the year, a U.S. operation to forcibly remove former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro triggered flight cancellations to Caribbean destinations including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Aruba.
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Then, U.S. President Donald Trump’s oil blockade against Cuba forced Canadian airlines to scramble empty planes to the country to rescue stranded vacationers amid a rapidly worsening energy, food and health crisis.
The take-away is that a more assertive U.S. policy is causing regional upheaval that is rocking not only Canadians’ beach vacations but also the travel industry, experts say.
Wendy Muller's husband Geoffrey Dawe, left, and friends Kathryn Brownlie, centre, and husband Brian Brownlie play cards on Sunday as the city of Puerto Vallarta burns below.Supplied
Toronto resident Wendy Muller and her husband spent many winters soaking in the California sun. But political turmoil in the United States sent the couple further south this year.
After 10 days spent cradled in the mountains of Puerto Vallarta’s Banderas Bay, they were minutes away from getting into an Uber to the airport for their flight home when they saw fire erupt below their condominium. “We could not see through the bay at all, the smoke was horrendous – everything started blowing up,” Ms. Muller said.
So far, the violence in Mexico has been concentrated in areas in the southwestern part of the country, where groups connected to Mr. Oseguera Cervantes have set up roadblocks and set fire to vehicles.
Airlines have temporarily suspended flights in Puerto Vallarta, and, in some cases, nearby Guadalajara and Manzanillo.
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But while stranded passengers there are scrambling to book return flights, there is no sign of disruptions in Cancún, another popular beach destination, which lies on the eastern coast, said Flight Centre spokesperson Amra Durakovic.
Still, images of burning vehicles and plumes of smoke rising above sandy beaches will rattle vacationers’ nerves just ahead of the key spring break travel season, said John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University.
“This is the time of year where Canadians basically take the sun break,” Mr. Gradek said. “Anything that puts some anxiety in people’s travel plans is disconcerting to the industry,” he added.
Solange Márquez, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said it’s likely the violence around Puerto Vallarta will subside quickly.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government will be leery of attempting more high-stakes takedowns of drug kingpins for fear of roiling the country’s key tourism sector, she said.
And any power struggles within the cartel that Mr. Oseguera Cervantes used to lead are likely to unfold away from major tourist destinations, as drug lords will be wary of attracting more U.S. attention, Ms. Márquez said.
Some tourists say the streets of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, are quiet a day after fire and violence engulfed the popular tourist destination following the death of the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. One visitor, a dialysis patient, said transit shutdowns left her scrambling to get treatment.
The Canadian Press
But Mexico was already the plan-B travel option for many Canadians after the oil embargo scuttled vacations in Cuba, said Richard Vanderlubbe, president of Ontario-based Tripcentral.ca, which specializes in all-inclusive vacations and cruises.
Cuba has been the bigger financial blow for both travellers and the industry so far this year, he said. For consumers, the country has long been among the most affordable options for a beach vacation within a short flight from Canada, he said.
“It’s hard to find the white beautiful powdery beach and an open bar at comparable prices,” he said.
Canadians who chose to reroute their Cuba vacations to other nearby destinations had to pay hundreds of dollars more per person, he said.
Meanwhile, the virtual shutdown of Cuba’s tourism sector has hit Canada’s airlines and travel agencies with a wave of cancellations. Tripcentral alone saw around 2,600 vacation packages scrapped, Mr. Vanderlubbe said.
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It’s unclear when the region will go back to the stability and predictability that has long lured Canadian resort-goers.
While some Canadian airlines are accepting flight bookings to Cuba starting in May, for example, the White House has given no hints about lifting the oil embargo, Mr. Gradek said.
And more policy shifts by the Trump administration could cause renewed upheaval, he said.
“We are now moving into a riskier environment. Canadians have to recognize that.”
Ms. Muller and her husband have been slowly making their way through two-and-a-half loaves of bread, pineapple juice, six beers and one bottle of wine while sheltering in place in their condominium.
“We were leaving and threw all our food in the garbage yesterday morning,” she said.
But the couple’s frustrations have been compounded by a lack of reassurance from airlines and Canadian government officials.
“We have been trying for over 12 hours now to register as a Canadian abroad and the site just crashes,” Ms. Muller said.
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Those who purchased trip cancellation or interruption insurance can be reimbursed for the sum insured through their coverage. But, “it needs to be a Level 3 – ‘avoid all non-essential travel’ – to trigger a claim,” said Martin Firestone, a travel insurance specialist, referring to government of Canada travel advisories.
While Puerto Vallarta has been designated at Level 3, some regions, such as Cancún, remain at a lower Level 2.
Sixty-five-year-old Ian Grant from Calgary felt fortunate that he and his wife had only purchased plane tickets and hadn’t finalized excursions before flying for a trip just south of Puerto Vallarta in April. Though the couple would’ve considered a place like Hawaii in the past, they were dissuaded from travel to the U.S. following recent geopolitical developments.
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“We’ve been trying to buy Canadian,” he said. And when it came to travel, “we thought Mexico would be a good choice.”
Now, they’ve found U.S. policies shifting their plans once again.
“I spent four-and-a-half hours listening to that same hold music loop,” said Mr. Grant, of his time on hold with WestJet this week. “The [representative] was like, ‘Don’t you just want to rebook?’ I’m like, ‘Nope.’”
The couple has turned their sights closer to home, with plans to visit Ottawa and Montreal in June instead.
