(Bloomberg) -- Cancun and nearby beaches welcomed 1,500 National Guard troops on Dec. 1 after two deadly shootouts raised security concerns at Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations. Drug-related violence has escalated in the area just as flights and hotel occupancy begin to recover from the pandemic, so the government stepped in to protect the nascent tourism revival. Heavily-armed troops in bulletproof vests stuck out like a sore thumb among the turquoise waves and fine powder sand, but tourists expressed hope that the show of force would slow the crime wave.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.