The beaches, bars and hotels of Cancun are nearly empty, Jason Beaubien reports, as tourists have cancelled their planned vacations in reaction to the swine flu outbreak that originated in Mexico in
April. Mexico's tourism minister, Rodolfo Elizondo, predicts that the number of international visitors could drop in the coming weeks to "almost zero."
Tourism is Mexico's third-largest
source of revenue, and the Cancun region relies on tourism like no other place in Mexico. It was conceived and developed by the Mexican government in the 1970s as an international beach resort on what
was then a desolate strip of the Yucatan Peninsula. It has been booming ever since except for the past two weeks, when the number of international tourists dropped 82%.
More than 10,000
waiters, cooks, maids and other hotel employees have been furloughed. Dive boat owners are going out with two or three customers. Jungle tour boats sit idle and parasail operators are kicking soccer
balls on the empty beaches.
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