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Cruise ship taxes cut as Mexico tries to lift tourism
Rosamund Urwin05.05.09
Mexico has cut taxes on cruise ships visiting the country to encourage tour operators to return to its shores in the wake of the swine flu outbreak.
The government's plans come after cruise ship giant Carnival said yesterday it would cancel all stops at Mexico ports until 15 June.
President Felipe Calderon's plans for a temporary reduction in cruise line taxes are part of a stimulus package to boost the tourist industry, which has been hit hard by the spread of the virus.
"We are now going to concentrate on achieving the recovery of the economy as fast as possible," Calderon said.
Meanwhile, claims from Mexican authorities that the flu epidemic is stabilising pushed up shares in the country to a four-month high. The benchmark IPC stock index climbed more than 5% to close at 23,014.05 yesterday, aided by big gains on Wall Street.
The peso also rallied against the dollar as traders bet that the worst of the outbreak is over.
