Tourism ministers in Mexico are asking the federal government to implement some protocols to incoming international travelers in the future. Certain provisions would be proof of a negative Covid test result or proof of full vaccination against the virus, in order to safely continue international travel throughout the country.
The head of the Tourism Ministers Association, Juan Carlos Rivera Castellanos from Oaxaca, said they will take the proposal to Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs by sometime next week.
Proposal Supported By Tourism Ministers
Castellanos said in an interview that the proposal for Covid-related restrictions has the support of each state tourism minister. According to the Mexico News Daily, the shortage of restrictions thus far has been blamed for coronavirus outbreaks in some popular tourist destinations in the country and adding some health and safety screenings will help slow the spread.
If the proposal were to be approved, the association would work with Mexico’s Health Ministry to flesh out the details of which types of Covid-related restrictions to implement. Items for discussion would be protocols like on arrival and pre-departure testing, as well as proof of vaccination and which vaccines would be approved for international travel.
Limited Travel Restrictions In Mexico So Far
Mexico currently does not have any Covid-related restrictions for incoming international travelers, with no testing required on arrival for American and Canadian tourists at this time. The country has remained relatively open to tourism throughout the pandemic.
There have been no limits on international air travel as well as domestic travel. Certain health protocols have been in place for the pandemic, such as temperature checks to enter some restaurants, shops and bus stations. A health questionnaire is also required to be filled out and submitted at the airport for international and domestic travel in Mexico.
But despite Mexico remaining open, numbers show that the tourism industry suffered substantially in 2020 and into 2021. Recent reports revealed that U.S. travelers flocked to Mexico in record numbers this summer, with five major air carriers transporting over 2 million passengers to and from Mexico in the month of July alone.
No Plans For Vaccine Passports, Says President
Even though certain restrictions are up for discussion, the Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated last month that the country doesn’t have plans to implement any vaccine mandates and/or proof of inoculation for domestic or international travelers. As reported last month, the Mexican President said that, “We will not require that type of proof whatsoever. I want to be very clear about that.”
Earlier in July, rumors began circulating that the tourist-friendly state of Quintana Roo will require proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test result for tourists in order to enter certain hotels, restaurants and bars in the region. The tourism board later confirmed that they will only require employees working in the tourism sector to be vaccinated or produce a negative test result every 3 days.
Covid Cases This Week
Mexico’s Health Ministry reported 18,138 cases this past Thursday, with the total at just under 3.39 million. You can read the latest updates in Mexico here.
U.S. Travel Restrictions For Mexico
Along with Western Europe and parts of the Caribbean, the CDC has Mexico at a Level 3 travel health notice. Level 3 which means “high-risk” for the virus. Non-essential travel at the land border between the U.S. and Mexico is restricted until at least September 21st, but air travel remains open.
And while no details have been confirmed yet, it’s been reported that the U.S. will soon require foreign visitors to be fully vaccinated.
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R
Monday 6th of September 2021
Really hope they don’t sink to the level of North America and Europe and go full covidictatorship with crazy entry rules, useless PCR tests and absurd vaccine passports. It’s already bad enough to wear masks for 2 years, but all the other crap is even more infuriating. Mexico should stay woke to this ruse and continue to be a place of freedom and normalcy or their economy will tank like the rest of us
Brenda
Saturday 18th of September 2021
AGREE TOTALLY! @R,
Suan Dalmer
Sunday 5th of September 2021
Yes, even double jab travel still has restrictions. One thing that hasn't been looked at closely is donated blood of vaccinated people....donate be aware of blood of a COVID unproven vaccine with spike protien. It should be considered contaminated as the spiked protien has shown it does not stay T injection site.
Christian
Sunday 5th of September 2021
Mexico is a Federal system and tourism ministers of each State have no decision powers in matters of Federal policies. If Oaxaca minister of tourism had the support of ministers of tourism from other States like it is implied in this article, then why aren't they mandating similar measures in their States? The Federal government will most likely require proof that the no travel restrictions indeed contributes to higher level of covid cases, or is it instead caused by a higher numbers of PCR tests that the tourism industry requires employees to submit to. More PCR tests = more covid cases. Note that PCR tests don't test for Covid and that false positives equal a coin toss.
Devin
Saturday 4th of September 2021
Its funny how they have fare no worse than other countries that have been mandating travel restrictions and extreme lockdowns all all along. Its almost like viruses don't care about your arbitrary virtue signalling rules.
Karl
Sunday 5th of September 2021
@Liberty, don’t be ridiculous. Mexico has been caught red handed with many Mexicans knowing very well they both, cases and hospitalizations, even deaths, are severely underreported.
Liberty
Saturday 4th of September 2021
@Devin, exactly. If any of this was logical, their "experts" would just look at all the countries that have harsh travel restrictions but still have high "case" numbers. At this point it's clear - This goes beyond stupidity or incompetence.
Bern
Saturday 4th of September 2021
No double jabs, no travel. It's just that simple. What's the big deal.
P
Sunday 5th of September 2021
@Bern, Weird how your double jab only works if I get them too. Just like your mask only works if I wear one too.
Eduardo Gomez
Saturday 4th of September 2021
@Bern, even with a double jab you STILL can't. Sweden, Bulgaria, and other countries aren't accepting Americans, Let's be honest, they're an annoying, loud crowd usually. So what good did that jab do to you?