CHARDON, Ohio — A Northeast Ohio travel agent tells 3News that she still feels comfortable visiting Mexico even with current travel advisories in place.
Laura Holcomb, owner of Memories and Moments Travel in Chardon, says she just returned three weeks ago from a trip to south of the border.
"I felt totally fine," she declared, "and would do it again in a heartbeat."
The 20-year-veteran of the travel industry stayed at a resort in Puerto Morelos with her husband. Puerto Morelos, along with Cancun and Playa del Carmen, has been designated as places travelers should "exercise increased caution," according to the U.S. State Department.
"It was wonderful," said Holcomb.
Recently, two Americans were killed after being kidnapped in Matamoros, Mexico, near the Southeast Texas border. The United States placed Matamoros in a Level 4, "do not travel" advisory in October. However, that's a nearly 28-hour drive from Puerto Morelos, which is at Level 2.
"It's a huge country," Holcomb explained. "We want to be very careful when we're making our decisions to look at it realistically and just to see, you know, how close was that and is that an area I should be going."
Holcomb told WKYC that she plans to visit Mexico on Monday for work.
"I am not afraid to get on that plane Monday and head back down there," she said.