Megan Reece planned a dream spring break trip to Puerto Escondido, a laid-back beach town on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
When cartel violence erupted last month, Reece reconsidered. The Fort Worth mother has visited Mexico at least 20 times, but she does not plan to return this month. Her husband and children, ages 16 and 20, received flight vouchers and booked a trip to South Florida.
“We’re not alarmists, but we went with our gut,” Reece said. “I did not want to spend several thousand dollars for us to feel nervous and on edge all week.”
North Texas families are navigating spring break travel plans to Mexico, rocked by violence last month after the government killed a notorious crime leader. The violence has dissipated, but some remain uneasy.
Breaking News
Uncertainty extends beyond Mexico. Higher gas prices and the Iran war could complicate travel and squeeze household budgets at a time families are already struggling with rising costs.
Mexico hot spots
The U.S. State Department is advising tourists to avoid travel to six Mexican states, and urges them to reconsider visiting seven others, including Jalisco, home of popular travel spots Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. Ahead of spring break, which is next week for many Dallas-area school districts, the agency advised travelers to exercise caution after dark and warned the risk of violent crime remains.
Travel agents say clients are nervous, but many still plan to visit Mexico, which is roughly three times the size of Texas. Popular tourist destinations like Cancun, Cozumel and Tulum are more than 1,200 miles from Jalisco, the focus of the recent violence.
Steve Cosgrove, who owns Southlake-based Dynamic Travel and Cruises, said he is advising clients to skip Puerto Vallarta and surrounding towns for now, even though the unrest appears over.
“Unless you’ve got a friend in the cartel or a friend in the Mexican government,” Cosgrove said, “you don’t know when the next attack will be.”
Spring break travel shows no sign of slowing, and DFW International Airport is expecting a busy month. Roughly 4.7 million people are expected to travel to, from and through the airport between March 5 and March 24.
‘A deep impact on tourism and travel’
The long-term travel outlook is less clear. Gas prices have surged in recent days as the Iran war disrupts the global oil supply, crunching household budgets and making travel more expensive.
Hundreds of thousands of travelers were stranded or diverted to other airports after several countries in the Middle East closed their airspace after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran. That led to closures of key airport hubs in popular tourist locations, including Dubai and Doha.
Some clients feel skittish about upcoming trips to countries in Eastern Europe, Cosgrove said. That could signal a rise in domestic travel if people do not want to go abroad.
“The impact on tourism and travel remains to be seen,” said Bill Nichols, who studies global tourism and is dean of undergraduate education for the University of Texas at Dallas. “Are we on the verge of a world war or will things cool off quickly? There could be a deep impact on tourism and travel over the next several months. We don’t know yet.”
The World Cup
The conflict and unrest come months before the ultimate tourism spectacle: the World Cup, which will be played in 16 cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico. North Texas will host nine matches.
Mexico is scheduled to host 13 matches in three cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. FIFA representatives met with Mexican authorities earlier this month to assess security, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said security is guaranteed for visitors during the tournament.
A FIFA executive addressed the global turmoil at a news conference Monday in Dallas, saying the tournament is “too big” to postpone.
“If I had a crystal ball, I could tell you now what is going to happen,” said Heimo Schirgi, FIFA’s chief event operations officer. “Obviously, the situation is developing; it’s changing day by day. And we are monitoring closely. We’re working together with all our federal partners and also our international partners in evaluating the situation. And we basically take it day by day,” he said…And the World Cup will go on obviously, right? The World Cup is too big and we hope that everyone can participate that has qualified.”
FIFA Chief Event Operations Officer Heimo Schirgi speaks to the media during a press conference about the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, March 9, 2026. The event was held by the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Cruising Mexico
Kyle Becker, 38, is planning to take a cruise this month from Galveston with stops in Cozumel and Costa Mesa with his wife and three children, 3, 5 and 7 years old. Becker, who lives in Dallas and works in digital commerce, said they considered canceling, but would have lost too much money. Instead, the family might cancel planned day excursions, including a private boat ride in Cozumel.
“To say we are hesitant is an understatement,” he said, “but things seem to have calmed down for now. We’ll play it by ear as far as when we get off the ship.”
Cruise lines paused stops in Puerto Vallarta following the violence but have since resumed them.
Reece, who canceled her family’s trip to Puerto Escondido, said she hopes to return to Mexico soon. For now, her family is thrilled about visiting Florida.
“We’ll still be on a warm, beautiful beach,” she said. “Just not the one we initially thought.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.