| | |  Business News | April 2009 
Mexican Tourism Takes a Hit
 RTTNews
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Foreigners made a beeline for Mexican airports Wednesday fearing more flight cancellations as the Swine Influenza (swine flu) epidemic threatens to bring the country's tourism industry to a brink of collapse exacerbated by a warning by the World Health Organization (WHO) of an "imminent" pandemic, reports say.
Many foreigners sought to beat imminent flight suspensions, after seeing Cuba and Argentina suspend flights to and from Mexico late Tuesday. They also feared the WHO raising its flu alert level could reduce departure options as countries worldwide issued travel warnings in a bid to contain a virus that has left likely 159 persons dead and nearly 2,000 others infected in Mexico.
However, Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SAB de CV (GAP) has reported that its airports are operating normally following the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico, which was confirmed by the Mexican National Health Department April 26.
The health departments in most of the states where GAP's airports operate are checking for persons affected by the symptoms in order to maintain control over the outbreak. Dozens of doctors were on stand-by in the airports for possible swine flu cases and passengers filled out health questionnaires, while all staff were ordered to wear face masks Wednesday, said airport spokesman Victor Manuel Mejia.
GAP operates 12 airports in Mexico's Pacific region, including the cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, as well as six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Bajio, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis.
Meanwhile, the lack of tourists is being felt most sharply in the capital, Mexico City, the heart of the epidemic, with authorities there ordering the closure of all eateries, bars, lounges, night clubs, theaters, cinemas, museums and the nearby Aztec pyramids and Mayan pyramids.
As tour operators in Britain, France and Germany including major U.S. cruise lines canceled packages to Mexico and many tourists headed to the airport, occupancy rates in many Mexico City hotels sank to around 10 percent Tuesday, president of the capital's chamber of commerce said.
Renowned for its fine-sand beaches and pre-Hispanic ruins, Mexico is one of the world's top tourist destinations, with between 22 and 23 million foreign visitors each year. But in recent days, the flow of 70,000 tourists usually passing through Mexico's international airport has nearly dried up, with airport workers reporting some 50 percent less foreigners on incoming flights since Friday. |
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