Why Los Cabos Is One Of The Most Welcoming Places For American Tourists On Earth

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Last Updated 6 months ago

In the world of tourism, Los Cabos is super-unique when it comes to its attitude to tourism. While other destinations that have been built up through tourism are beginning to see cracks in the relationship between locals and visitors, in Los Cabos, the welcome is only getting bigger.

As counter-productive as it may sound to be unwelcoming to travelers who add so much to the local economy, that’s exactly what is happening in some of the world’s most famous destinations.

However, the opposite result is being felt in Los Cabos, a destination that is showing no signs of slowing down in popularity with Americans.

The Trend

It’s important to give context when talking about the current state of attitudes to tourism around the world, which in many places has been taking a negative turn.

Since the tourism explosion in the 1970s, a time when more accessible air travel opened up the world, destinations around the world have gone from exclusive hotspots for the rich and famous to places for all hard-working people to experience and enjoy.

And for close to 50 years that trend only went in one direction, more hotels, more flights, and more visitors.

Then the great stoppage arrived, COVID-19.

Regardless of opinions on the pandemic and its handling, the reality of what happened in tourism is unquestionable. Destinations that welcomed constant streams of travelers for decades became quiet overnight.

The famous canals of Venice, Italy became an example of what tourism was doing to the local area as they ran clean and clear for the first time in generations.

For many populations living in tourism hotspots, the break from tourists arriving made them reconsider their attitudes to it, and not always in a positive way.

While some destinations are working quietly to tame traveler numbers, like Barcelona, Spain, which looks to limit visitor numbers, and Bali, Indonesia, which plans a high tourist tax to discourage a portion of their visitors.

Others are being much more vocal, like Amsterdam, the Dutch capital that ran ad campaigns across the UK in 2023 telling Brits not to visit.

And yet, despite that global trend of populations wanting tourism tamed in their towns, the opposite is happening in Los Cabos.

You Reap What You Sow

The destinations pushing back against tourism are seen as doing so because of cultural clashes between visitors and locals, as well as the long-predicted expectation of tourism fatigue.

Yet despite the obvious cultural differences between Americans and Mexicans, the relationship between the two in Los Cabos only grows stronger.

This won’t come as a shock to any traveler who has experienced the behavior of Americans in Los Cabos when compared to the famously rowdy behavior of British or even German travelers in destinations across Spain.

When Americans travel, they more often than not bring a positive and thankful attitude with them. A national personality trait of the American people that should be celebrated.

Of course, locals also love the American attitude towards tipping, but that is more of the icing on the cake, rather than the whole slice.

It’s for these reasons that even after decades of near-constant growth of tourism in Los Cabos, the welcome always stays the same.

A Match Made In Heaven

While the fact that the vast majority of tourists who visit Los Cabos are American plays a huge role in the destination’s attitude towards travelers, it’s only fair to recognize the equally positive attitude of the locals.

It’s no secret that Mexico has had a bumpy history and faced many trials over the years, and yet as difficult as many of those trials have been, the people in Mexico have never lost their warm attitudes and welcoming nature.

It’s impossible to know what the future holds for any destination, but one thing is certain: as long as Americans keep being American and Mexicans keep being Mexican, then Los Cabos is in for a fantastic future of happy vacations and happy locals.