What next? Mexico seems to be reeling from a tourism nightmare.Alarmed Mexican officials, scrambling to control a swine flu outbreak that has killed as many as 68 people and infected possibly 1,000 more in recent weeks, canceled more public events Saturday in and around the capital and said they were considering keeping schools for millions of students closed into next week.
This health scare comes on the heels of reports that the Pentagon and Homeland Security Department are developing contingency plans to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border under a $350 million initiative that would expand the U.S. military's role in the drug war, according to Obama administration officials.
Tourism is soft across Mexico this spring and the region is taking an extraordinary beating as a result of the global economic crisis, reports of warring drug cartels, and now the swine flu scare. 
The U.S. State Department recently warned travelers of increased violence in Mexico along the U.S. border causing spring breakers to stay away. That's bad news for the economy, Mexico's third-largest source of foreign income after oil and remittances.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Mexico rose 6 percent to 23 million last year, helping offset falling oil prices. Cancun is expected to draw about 25,000 spring breakers this year, down from about 27,000 last year, said Rodrigo de la Pena, president of the Cancun Hotel Association. Hotel occupancy in March fell to 82 percent from 85 percent last year, though that was partly because the city added hotel rooms in the last year. However these statistics were released prior to the Swine Flu announcement.
Puerto Vallarta's hotel occupancy was about 75 percent in March, down from about 90 percent last year, said Oscar Rivero, president of the city's hotel association. He estimates spring breakers occupied less than half those rooms, compared to about 60 percent last year.
The U.S. State Department recently warned travelers of increased violence in Mexico along the U.S. border causing spring breakers to stay away. That's bad news for the economy, Mexico's third-largest source of foreign income after oil and remittances.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Mexico rose 6 percent to 23 million last year, helping offset falling oil prices. Cancun is expected to draw about 25,000 spring breakers this year, down from about 27,000 last year, said Rodrigo de la Pena, president of the Cancun Hotel Association. Hotel occupancy in March fell to 82 percent from 85 percent last year, though that was partly because the city added hotel rooms in the last year. However these statistics were released prior to the Swine Flu announcement.
Puerto Vallarta's hotel occupancy was about 75 percent in March, down from about 90 percent last year, said Oscar Rivero, president of the city's hotel association. He estimates spring breakers occupied less than half those rooms, compared to about 60 percent last year.
2 comments:
I've heard from a few different sources that there would be no vaccination for such a rare virus as the Swine Flu, I hope this isn't the case
World is really scared of it. Yesterday, in Delhi India, five persons were taken to hospital suspecting having swine flu; however, four of them are discharged, but samples have been taken and report will be in next 24-48 hours.
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