Cozumel is safe: that's the resounding message from our new poll of visitors to the island in 2016/2017.
1,826 people were surveyed between August 25 and September 25, 2017 and 1,755 expressed an opinion. Of those, 1,150 responded they felt "very safe" and 557 felt "safe".
Some participants said they felt more threatened back home than when on vacation on the island. Shayne Marie, from Ohio, told us, "I feel safer in Cozumel than in Cleveland!"
Cozumel has received international recognition as an "Island of Peace", rates of crime have always been low and tourists constantly remark on how welcoming locals are, so the poll results won't come as any surprise to islanders and frequent visitors.
U.S. Travel Warning Attacked
Given Cozumel is so trouble free and visitors feel so safe, it's perhaps understandable that a recent U.S. government warning has been attacked for mentioning the island.
The travel notice includes Cozumel in a paragraph about Quintana Roo, the Mexican state the island belongs to, along with other cities including Cancun and Playa del Carmen. It gives the impression violence is a problem on island, which couldn't be further from the truth.
The misleading advice to American travelers has generated a tide of complaints from locals, tourists, travel professionals, and Americans living on the island.
The island's mayor, Perla Tun, officially complained to the local U.S. Consulate. She asked for Cozumel to be removed from the travel advice but was sent a stock reply that didn't answer her request.
Local business groups also petitioned the U.S. government and American expats speculated in online forums that the warning was politically motivated and related to the renegotiation of U.S. trade deals with Mexico.
We asked the U.S. State Department why Cozumel is mentioned in the warning and they told us it was to "help US citizens identify the particular Mexican state being addressed". They could not provide any evidence of increased crime in Cozumel or identify the sources used as a basis for the advice.
See the full survey results on our Facebook page here.
