now even the tourist centers of cancun and playa del carmen are coming bghted byhe vience. reporter: mexico's caribbean coast is a perfect holiday destination, as long as you don't mind beaches with a police presence. >>>> you have hihistory, greata, great peopople, and greaeat sen one placace. rereporter: urism is bmiming here, but crime is also on the rise. in february, dozens were injured when an explosion ripped through a ferry disembarking passengers in playa del carmen, and five were killed in a nightclub shooting in the resort in 2017. >> i think cancun is getting worse. not in the hotel zone, maybe, but i think the government should do o much morababout i. reporter: local police maintain these are isolated incidents. yet they still patrol the beaches to guard the visitors. carlos: the hotel zone in cancun is safe, there's no gunfire here. there are incidents in town, but normal people and tourists aren't involved. only people from the criminal underworld. reporter: but that's by no means guaranteed. in the town of cancun, a few kilometers from the beach, the idyllic