Canadian travel advisor living in Mexico calls for "perspective" after Puerto Vallarta scare

Living and working remotely from Mexico’s Caribbean coast, Canadian travel advisor Erin Steyn has spent the past several days doing what she does best: watching closely, asking questions, and helping her clients make sense of the fast-moving situation in Puerto Vallarta and elsewhere in Mexico’s Jalisco state.

From her base in Playa del Carmen, Steyn has been fielding messages from concerned clients, tracking developments hundreds—if not thousands—of kilometres away, and reassuring clients with something few advisors can offer: real-time, on-the-ground insight.

“It’s been a whirlwind few days,” said Steyn, a travel advisor with The Travel Agent Next Door, speaking with PAX over the phone Wednesday morning (Feb. 25).

Steyn is spending her winter living and working in the popular resort town in the state of Quintana Roo, along the Yucatán Peninsula's Riviera Maya strip.

“Today, the feeling is that Puerto Vallarta is opening up. Flights are going and I have clients there,” she said. “Where I live, in Playa del Carmen, there is a higher presence of police around town and on highways. But it’s business as usual.”

A violent flashpoint—and rapid stabilization

Her perspective stands in contrast to the alarming images that circulated this week after violent incidents erupted on the Pacific side of Mexico.  

As reported, the unrest erupted Sunday (Feb. 22), when cartel members erected roadblocks using burning vehicles across multiple cities. Shootouts with security forces followed, along with explosions reported on roads and highways connecting affected regions to Mexico City.

The violence sent shockwaves through the travel industry. Flights into affected areas were temporarily suspended, leaving travellers stranded and advisors scrambling to provide guidance and reassurance.

Videos captured by residents and visitors showed thick plumes of smoke rising above communities in Jalisco—home not only to Puerto Vallarta, but also to Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s largest cities.

Many Canadians spend months in this region each winter, making the footage especially unsettling for those with travel plans or loved ones there.

READ MORE: Canadian airlines return to Puerto Vallarta; cancellations are minimal, says Sunwing's Andrew Dawson

The violence was reportedly triggered by a security operation targeting Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes—better known as “El Mencho”—the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and one of Mexico’s most wanted fugitives.

A lot has happened, however, in a very short period of time. By Tuesday (Feb. 24), Global Affairs Canada said the security situation in Jalisco, as well as in the states of Sinaloa—home to Mazatlán—and Quintana Roo, which includes Playa del Carmen and Cancun, had stabilized.

And, as reported, Canadian airlines have since resumed normal operations to Puerto Vallarta and elsewhere in Jalisco state, signalling a return to normal from an operational standpoint.

But the psychological impact—on consumers and the travel industry alike—remains more complex.

A seasoned traveller’s perspective

For Steyn, Mexico is more than a destination—it’s a second home.

She estimates she has visited roughly 20 times over the past two decades, experiencing the country as both a professional advisor and an independent backpacker.

Her specialties include backpacking travel and women’s solo travel, niches that require deep destination knowledge and cultural familiarity.

Unlike many tourists, she rarely stays in large resorts. Instead, she gravitates toward smaller towns and locally-owned accommodations, offering her a more nuanced understanding of daily life.

That experience, she says, is critical when interpreting events like those that unfolded this week.

“Mexico is a large country”

The most important thing to consider, as a travel advisor, is each client’s comfort level, she said.

“The stance I’m taking with clients and friends is for them to do whatever they’re comfortable with,” Steyn said. “If you’re uncomfortable with travelling to Mexico, it’s valid. Something very serious happened and we shouldn’t undermine any of that. If you’re uncomfortable with going, it’s OK.”

But she also emphasizes scale—something often lost in social media coverage and political commentary.

“I’m reminding people that Mexico is a large country. Puerto Vallarta is roughly 2,500 km away from Cancun. That’s like something happening in Vancouver and saying that people in Winnipeg are affected. When you think about geography, it puts things into perspective.”

The dangers of blanket statements

The situation has drawn some sharp reactions in Canada, including from Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, who, this week, urged travellers to avoid Mexico altogether, claiming the country was not stable.

For Steyn, such broad warnings have consequences.

“It’s frustrating to hear blanket statements like that. It’s damaging to tourism. People depend on tourism in Mexico. It’s a huge part of their economy. The people of Mexico didn’t ask for this. They’re also navigating a very hairy situation.”

Steyn believes travellers deserve balanced, informed guidance rather than sweeping generalizations.

One misconception, she said, involves safety and comfort differences between resorts and residential areas.

“There’s a difference between staying at a resort and staying in an Airbnb,” she said. “Resorts have tons of security, you’re in a gated community, it’s a different vibe.”

That being said, as one who lives in a “very local area” of Playa del Carmen, “I feel perfectly safe.”

“Again, it comes down to individuals and their comfort levels,” Steyn said.

Steyn’s on-the-ground insight has been particularly valuable this week as she assists clients currently in Mexico – or flying there soon.  

Of her current bookings, she says the vast majority remain unchanged.

Nine of her clients are currently in Puerto Vallarta, at a hotel near the marina, while four others are staying in Punta de Mita, in neighbouring Nayarit state. Only one booking was moved, to Costa Rica.

Social media: a double-edged sword

As with many crises, social media has played a role in shaping perceptions—sometimes helpfully, and sometimes harmfully.

“Social media helps and hinders at the same time,” Steyn said. “It helps us communicate with each other with live feeds of what’s happening, which is amazing.”

But the rise of AI-generated content, unverified posts and armchair critics has also amplified fear, she said.

“AI-produced images and people creating noise spreads misinformation, making things impossible to navigate,” she said. “It’s easier for people who live in Mexico to understand, but people in Canada are wondering if they should get on a plane tomorrow. I understand why they’re confused.”

She points to a recent example close to home.

“Here in Playa del Carmen, there was an AI video of an Argentinean restaurant on fire and half the people in town thought it was real. But it was AI. That’s inciting fear, which is wrong. Social media allows us to communicate with each other, but it’s equally as dangerous.”

Separating fact from fiction has become an essential part of the job, she said.

Will tourism rebound or retreat?

Mexico remains one of the most popular international destinations for Canadians, thanks to its climate, affordability, accessibility, and cultural richness.

Whether this week’s events will significantly affect tourism remains unclear.

“I honestly don’t know,” Steyn said. “With my clients, it hasn’t led to any drastic shifts. That being said, I think my clients are very different from someone else’s clients. Not all customers are the same.”

People who are cancelling travel to Mexico were probably already steering clear before this week’s event unfolded, she suggested.  

“It might affect tourism slightly, but we’ll have to see how it unfolds,” she said.

“Most people are changing their dates”

Early indicators suggest resilience rather than a collapse. Flights have resumed, and as Andrew Dawson, president of Sunwing Vacations Group, told PAX earlier this week, the cancellations have been minimal.

“Most people are changing their dates,” Dawson said Monday. “They’re delaying travel [to Mexico] until things return to normal.”

Dawson remembers a similar cartel-related incident in Mazatlán, another popular destination for Canadians on Mexico’s Pacific coast, that occurred in 2023.

That event, which saw criminal groups burn cars and busses and exchange of gun fire with police, also temporarily cancelled flights into the destination.

“The tourist areas were swarmed with police and military and it died down fast,” Dawson recalled.

Regarding the situation in Puerto Vallarta, “I hope it’s a repeat in that things quickly return to normal,” he said.

“Use a travel agent that travels”

For Steyn, this week’s events underscore the importance of responsible advising, as well as collaboration within the travel industry.

“People need to be responsible for their own information,” she said. “[Consumers] should work with a trusted advisor who niches in these destinations. Personally, I would never recommend someone go somewhere that wasn’t safe. Research is critical.”

She also believes advisors themselves must communicate carefully and thoughtfully.

“My advice to consumers is to use a travel agent that travels,” she said. “My advice to travel advisors is to help each other out. Let’s have discussions internally before we make grand statements that effect people’s decisions.”

Professional networks, she says, have been invaluable this week.

“I’ve been using my network at The Travel Agent Next Door. Use any network you have,” Steyn said. “We should be talking about how to navigate the situation with clients and future clients.”

“We all have knee-jerk responses, but we also have a responsibility to not make blanket statements.”

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