Mexico bus tour business runs hot, cold

Some local business owners offering bus tours to Mexico say reservations for across-the-border expeditions have all but stopped in light of cartel violence; others say business is booming.

In Harlingen, Go With Jo Tours & Travels owner Jo Liston says business is better this year than during the same time in 2009.

"My trips are going into the interior and have not been affected at all," she said. "People ask me, ‘is it safe?.’ And I tell them (it is safe) if they behave themselves, which is the same thing they tell them in State Department warnings."

She elaborated on what she meant by behaving.

"Don’t deal in drugs; don’t sell drugs; don’t use drugs; don’t go into prostitution areas; deal with legitimate people," she said.

Liston said that in all 26 years of business, she has never encountered any incidents of violence in Mexico.

"I constantly monitor everything, my buses, destinations, my drivers, my guides, the whole thing," she said. "I check the actual situation (in Mexican cities). I check with people who live there who I have faith in."

In McAllen, however, Viva Mexico Tours owner Tomas Gonzalez said the only calls he gets now are those for cancellation of existing reservations.

"The main (reason for reduced business) is what has been said (in the media) about safety and all that," he said. "But it is not as bad as they announce it."

Gonzalez said he has canceled all one-day shopping tours along the border in Mexico.

"On the long tours into Mexico, we have no problem," he said.

When asked what he had noticed in terms of new business at Viva Mexico, Gonzalez said, "Bad. It’s very bad. No body’s calling. Once they put (stories of violence) in the media, instead of getting calls from people signing up, we get calls from people to cancel.

"It’s pretty hard to convince them," he said, referring to his efforts to put customers at ease.

Gonzalez said the cancellations began about two weeks ago.

In San Benito, Vieh’s Bed and Breakfast Owner Charles Vieh, who also offers Mexico tours, said the recent border violence has been cause for concern among his customers. But he says he will still make trips across the Rio Grande.

"Once you get away from the border, things aren’t like they used to be," he said. "When people request it, I take them. But they just don’t want to go very often."

Vieh said his business is not in dire straits as the tour business was never his main source of business. Still, he has three trips planned between March and April.

"We don’t stay at all close to the border," he said. "We go to Tampico and Ciudad Victoria. All of my tours go deep into Mexico."