ASK JOURNEYS: Pack a passport if Mexico’s your destination

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/02/2010 (5745 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT is not often a columnist like me truly gets a news scoop. So I was apprehensive when founding out, from what I felt was a reliable source, that Mexico was about to demand Canadians have passports to enter the country.

After considerable thought I went forward with the information in my column, before it was officially announced.

No other media picked up the story after the column ran. I was feeling not at all comfortable with the decision when an industry peer, after contacting the Mexican consulate in Toronto, informed me that the people there laughed at such a possibility.

I stuck with my faith in the source, and I am glad I did. I hope that those who might have been planning to travel to that wonderful country without a passport applied for one immediately, and receive it on time to enjoy a pleasant March or April holiday.

QUESTION: Is it correct that Canadians will now require a passport to enter Mexico?

ANSWER: It is now official. As of March 1, Canadians will require a passport in order to be allowed entry into Mexico. Permanent residents of Canada will need a permanent resident card, certificate of identity or refugee travel document.

There has been some confusion around the issue, with some believing we will also need a visa to enter Mexico. This is not the case.

While I am surprised the implementation of this decision was not delayed until summer, it appears the problem may not be as big as surmised.

Mexican tourism officials say only about 10,000 Canadians over the past year entered without already having a passport in their possession. This is less than one per cent of the 1.2-million Canadians that visited Mexico last year.

QUESTION: My husband and I are still looking to go south this winter. Are there any other spring break times or national holidays that we might want to avoid?

ANSWER: The challenge at this time of year is that spring-break weeks and/or reading weeks in the United States and Canada are not the same.

U.S. colleges have spring break from now to almost the end of March.

In Canada, they also may fall on different weeks but the total numbers our colleges and universities represent, while large, are not where the greatest impact is felt.

As a result it is not the time frame you need to avoid, although it is worth considering the fact that prices tend to be higher from Winnipeg around Manitoba spring breaks. More appropriately, what you need to avoid are the destinations that attract the greatest number of young people because of their reputation as party areas.

Montego Bay, Jamaica, is one of these cities, as are a number of destinations in Mexico, such as Cancun and Mazatlan. Some suggest Puerto Vallarta is the fastest-growing destination for spring-break parties.

Go to some of the quieter areas, like Nuevo Vallarta, about an hour away from Puerto Vallarta. The all-inclusive resorts along the Mayan Riviera are somewhat isolated from the major population centres and Playacar, where I recently spent a week, is likely to be comparatively serene.

Punta Cana resorts stretch out over a fairly long distance with no particular gathering centre for major parties to congregate. And the Cuban destinations that are available to us are not likely to be crowded with college students.

QUESTION: I have a question about taxes charged on all-inclusive vacations. I was recently browsing a travel website for travel to Cancun, Mexico. While the prices varied widely, all the ones I looked at charged $280 for taxes. I then checked what air-only would be using the same carrier. The prices were dramatically lower but the taxes were still $280. I am confused. If I go to the store to buy a sweater, the amount of tax I pay depends on the amount the sweater costs. Can you shed some light on how the taxes can be the same for two vacations — one at twice the cost of the other?

ANSWER: I think you will find that you are being quoted taxes and service charges.

The service-charge situation has become a ridiculous issue.

As I have described in this column in the past, tour operators often use it to make the advertised selling price of the product lower, and then they arbitrarily apply a service charge. Sometimes they will market products on sale by saying they are waiving service charges.

Each tour operator, in my opinion, plays their own game with this.

No one likes it. Consumers don’t like it because they not only can’t really figure out the logic, as per your question, but no one likes to be hit with what is called ‘sticker shock’, an expectation for one price and a shock when you realize the actual cost.

Travel agents don’t like it for two reasons. Firstly, it is a way of not paying travel agents commissions for the work they do, as there is no commission on service charges. Secondly, it is the middle person, the travel agent, who most often bears the wrath of the consumer, even though they have no control whatsoever over pricing.

Travel industry associations have been trying to establish full-price transparency in all advertising, but so far with little success.

Forward your travel questions to askjourneys@journeystravel.com. Ron Pradinuk is president of Journeys Travel & Leisure SuperCentre and can be heard Sundays at noon on CJOB. Previous columns and tips can be found at www.journeystravelgear.com or read Ron’s travel blog at www.thattravelguy.ca.