Mexican trade, travel hit hard by flu fears

It appears that the number of deaths and illnesses from the deadly swine flu has leveled off in Mexico and the country is trying to slowly return to some level of normalcy. In the meantime, Mexico’s economy has been battered as a result of international reactions to the outbreak.

Last week, three airlines have temporarily cut flights to Mexico: U.S. Airways, Continental Airlines, and United Airlines. American Airlines can be added to that list after announcing today that it will book 25% fewer flights to Mexico. Some passengers have opted to nix traveling to Mexico after carriers such as U.S. Airways permitted cancelling or rebooking free of charge.

Cuba, Ecuador and Argentina have temporarily suspended flights to Mexico thus hurting an already an ailing airplane industry and a Mexican economy undergoing a recession. (These measures are peanuts, however, compared to China’s profiling and forced quarantine of Mexicans regardless of whether or not they have swine flu symptoms).

According to Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens the swine flu outbreak could lead to as much as a 0.5% loss in economic growth. It’s no small wonder then that the Mexican government is planning a massive “swine flu stimulus package”:

The Mexican government plans to bring in a 17.4 billion peso...[ed. - US$1.3 billion] stimulus package aimed at supporting the tourism industry and the small business sector, Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said Tuesday.

Health insurance premiums will be temporarily cut for small firms, while airlines and cruise ships will see their taxes cut.

Mexican hotel occupancy rates have been cut in half in the wake of the outbreak of swine flu, while many airlines have cancelled flights to the country. The outbreak, which has its roots in Mexico, has led the World Health Organization to raise its global pandemic alert level to five on a scale that tops out at six.

The Mexican economy has lost the equivalent of $2.59 billion Cdn [ed. – roughly US$2.4 billion] due to the swine flu outbreak, the finance minister said.

Image- AP (“A street vendor wearing a protection mask as precaution against swine flu. sells flowers at the San Ysidro crossing port in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, May 1, 2009.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, Al Jazeera English, MarketWatch, CBC, USA TODAY, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, ABC News