I recently sat down with tourism secretary Gloria Guevara to ask her just that. Appointed in 2010, Guevara inherited what most would view as an overwhelming and even insurmountable set of issues, all of which were beyond her control. In recent years, Mexico, a country where tourism accounts for 13% of its GDP, has been linked with every imaginable issue that would deter travelers: crime, violence, drugs, terrorism, health concerns, and so on. Compounding those woes has been the economic crisis in the US which represents an overwhelming majority of the Mexico’s travel market.

Riding the elevators up to Secretary Guevara’s Mexico City office, I kept asking myself, “The challenges facing Mexico are so extraordinary, how can she succeed in reshaping the world’s perspective of her country as a travel destination?” But after spending just a few moments, I got my answer.

As we discussed the future of Mexico’s tourism industry, I was both inspired and astounded by a leadership style that enabled Guevara to view even the most difficult circumstances as roadblocks rather than walls. “The measure of a leader is often tested during a crisis. And those leaders who can engage directly, but still maintain their sense of perspective, are the ones that will help the organization survive,” says Guevara.

While the situation in Mexico can certainly be described as a crisis, travel to the country is on the rise and well-positioned for future growth.  Here’s why Guevara is succeeding in how the world views travel to Mexico and why she may just be able to take Mexico from the tenth most visited destination to one of the world’s top five by 2018.

Sheila Nabb, a 37-year-old office manager in Calgary, and her husband Andrew were vacationing at a resort in Mazatlan when she was found beaten and bloodied in a hotel elevator last week.

On Friday, officials said that the suspect, José Ramón Acosta Quintero, is from Mazatlan. A photo of the suspect has not yet been released.

The latest development comes on the same day that victim returned to Canada.

Robert Prosser, Nabb’s uncle, told CTV Atlantic his niece was scheduled to arrive home in Calgary late Thursday night.

Prosser added that Nabb had been put into a medically induced coma for the journey home from Mexico.

Peter Byl, who runs Latitude Aeromedical Works, said Nabb’s flight home took 3 1/2 hours.

“She did really well on the flight,” Byl told The Canadian Press.

Byl’s company uses a Learjet 35 aircraft to fly Canadian patients back home from desitations around the word. They operate under contract from private insurers.

Every bone in her face was broken, according to her family.

She was put into a medically-induced coma and her jaw was wired shut prior to facial reconstructive surgery. It isn’t clear whether Nabb had that surgery in Mexico.

There were also reports Nabb had contracted pneumonia.

Mexican surgeons originally said it would be at least a month before Nabb could fly home.

Earlier this week she was brought out of the first medically-induced coma, and began to breathe on her own. She was responsive and recognized her husband and father-in-law, who were by her side in hospital, according to a statement from the family.

Mexican officials stated that the beating was captured by a video surveillance camera in the hotel’s elevator. They had also previously said that the suspect in the video was a male of about 25.

Back in Canada, about $10,000 has been raised to help cover Nabb’s medical costs. The money has been raised at the clinic where Nabb works.

“We’ve really been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from friends to strangers to you name it,” said Jocelyn Tindall, who is Nabb’s co-worker at Active Back to Health Centre.

She added that dental work had been offered free of charge to Nabb.

“Now she’s back in Canada, so we’re very happy to hear that,” said Tindall.

Robin Wood of Salt Spring Island was shot to death on Tuesday when he confronted a pair of masked robbers at the home where he was staying. Mexican police have identified one suspect in the case, but have not yet made an arrest.

All of this was happening in the town of Melaque, south of Puerto Vallarta, a popular destination for many Canadians.

It’s no secret Mexico has gained an ugly reputation over the past couple of years for gang wars and gun battles in the street. But should tourists really be worried?

According to recent figures from the United Nations, Mexico’s murder rate is significantly lower than Honduras, Jamaica or El Salvador, but that doesn’t change the fact that some places in Mexico are extraordinarily dangerous.

While the perception of Mexico might be one of a dangerous country to visit, journalists in Mexico are quick to point out tourists are most often not the targets.

“Generally in Mexico, there is no special danger for foreigners. Mugging, burglary do happen in Mexico, the same as they do in many other cities around the world,” says journalist Ioan Grillo, who has spent a decade covering the Mexican drug trade.

Sixteen Canadians have been murdered in Mexico since 2006. Some of the deaths were high profile crimes in five-star resorts, others were killed in seedy nightclubs in cities known to be narcotic trafficking hubs.

Foreign Affairs has now issued specific warnings for parts of Mexico. Cities on the US border like Tijuana and Juarez are considered extremely dangerous, and once bustling tourist destinations like Mazatlan and Acapulco have become less well visited because of the increased presence of cartels.

“In the main tourist destinations like Cancun, in the big resorts, it is still very safe for Canadian tourists to visit,” argues Grillo.

But it seems the news of violent crime hasn’t dampened the demand for Mexican vacations as more people than ever are looking south for their winter holiday.

More than a million Canadians travel to sun drenched Mexican beaches every year.

That’s with American Airlines from Miami.

Another cheap flight at the same time is from JFK New York with Delta—$333 round-trip.

In fact, all the airfares we researched to Cancun (including from Montreal, LAX California, Dallas and Atlanta) are round-trip for flights departing from February 15-20. Most are quick and easy direct flights. I’ll give you more details in a moment.

These are important flights for you, because Cancun on February 21 is where we’re holding the biggest gathering of the overseas year—the Ultimate Event.

We’re flying in a golden circle of more than 100 of the best and the brightest of the “international lifestyle” world.

This will be the only place to leverage the vast experience and tens of thousands of dollars we’ve spent over the past 12 months investigating, scouting and assessing the genuine destinations you should consider for a new life abroad in countries like Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Mexico, France, Italy, Spain, Thailand and others.

For more than 30 years, International Living has covered the expat beat from soup to nuts. At the Ultimate Event 2012, we’ll explore every idea you need: Retirement, lifestyle, real estate, second passports, residency, adventure, health care, income…

Here are some more round-trip airfares we discovered to Cancun:

- LAX (Virgin): $362
- Atlanta (Delta): $378
- Dallas (American Airlines): $413
- Montreal (Delta): $419

Guillermo Ruiz Burguete, General Manager for Huana Coa says the company is thrilled to receive this recognition from customers. “Thanks to the positive reviews, we are number one among activities located in other popular destinations such as Cozumel and Los Cabos.” Huana Coa is the brainchild of several local families who saw the need for a wider variety of eco-tourism activities. Three years on, the company has integrated a canopy tour with other excursions including horseback riding and ATV tours. Huana Coa Park is located 45 minutes outside of Mazatlan, near the picturesque town of La Noria.

One of the features that make Huana Coa Park unique is that all adventures conclude at the 130 year old Los Osuna Agave plantation. Visitors can tour the Los Osuna distillery and taste the award-winning 100% pure Blue Agave liquor. Blue Agave is a traditional Mexican spirit made the same way as Tequila. “International demand for Los Osuna liquor began to grow because our visitors became its biggest promoters,” noted Burguete.

The Canopy tour itself was designed, planed and supervised by Quebec based High Adventure Technology. The Canadian company also installed the system and provides ongoing maintenance. The tour consists of 9 horizontal traverses 300 to 900 feet long, 2 descents, 14 platforms and a flexible walkway passing from hilltop to hilltop over an agave plantation.

Reviews on Tripadvisor include multiple comments about the tour’s experience and safety. Tim Fofono from Vancouver, B.C. wrote, “Myself and my wife, a little reluctant to go, decided on this Canopy Adventure because of other reviews that we had read. After we were done all the fantastic Zip lines, ourselves and everyone else in our group, wanted to do it all over again. Everything was safe and in great condition.” Huana Coa is another example of the growing eco-tourism trend in Mazatlan.

The dental insurances are extremely expensive and they offer little coverage, while people who need cosmetic dentistry procedures are not offered coverage at all by insurance policies.

Therefore, the next best choice of many people is dental tourism in Mexico.

Mexico is a wonderful country, a superb tourist destination, but also a place where you will find extremely skilled specialists in the medical field.

Even more so, several dentists working in Mexico have got their diplomas from universities in the US.

Canada and U.S residents find it extremely accessible and convenient to travel to Mexico when they are in need of such dental treatments. Getting to Mexico from either Canada or the US is a relatively short trip which is also inexpensive.

Then, Mexico is the land of well over 100 world class teaching institutions. Here are trained thousands of specialists coming from foreign countries, and the Mexican educational system puts a very high stress on well skilled and highly trained professionals in the dental field.

One huge mistake that many Americans or Canadians do is to visit for dental tourism only the dental offices that are located at the so called cross border shopping areas — these are offices that can be found in cities in the immediate vicinity of the border.

However, some even more specialized and high quality dental offices can be found in the true heart of Mexico where the world renowned dental tourist destinations can be found.

These include Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta or Cancun. Matching a beautiful holiday with having your dental issues treated in these places is the best thing you can do.

After the dental treatment, you can visit all the wonderful beaches, museums and tourist villages that are a major attraction in Mexico.

Before embarking on your journey make sure to run a thorough research dental tourism online, regarding the destination that you have chosen.

There are also several helpful dentist directories and dentist websites that can offer you high quality and reliable information.

Part of the campaign will feature TV ads — due to premiere in the next couple of weeks — that will feature real-life vacationers arriving back from South of the Border getaways. The idea: “Americans talking to Americans to communicate that it is a great place and a safe place,” tourism board chief marketing officer Gerardo Llanes says.

He says those picked for the “Mexico Taxi Project” are offered a ride home at the airport and don’t know they’re being filmed in vehicles driven by actors. The driver asks about their stay, including safety, then cameras are revealed and riders sign papers giving permission for their comments to air. So far, respondents have been positive about their stays, Llanes says. “Most of the people say, ‘Anything we can do for Mexico,’ ” when asked to give permission, he says. He thinks having Americans tout Mexico is more effective than “an institution” saying good things.

“We don’t deny there are some spots in the country that have issues,” Llanes continues, such as drug cartels run amok and crime. But he says tourist areas such as Cancun shouldn’t be considered treacherous.

A website due to be up and running soon, mexicotaxiproject.com, will have ad clips and more. And Llanes says the campaign will include a social media blitz and even billboards in places such as Times Square showing vacationers having fun in the sun, live.