Mexico is losing its appeal to potential cruise ship passengers. The number of ship arrivals has declined from 2,620 visits in 2005 to 1,843 in 2009. Many reasons have been given, from a shift in demographics to greater interest in cruises in Europe and Asia. Hoteliers in Mexico have been known to complain that cruise ships compete unfairly and bring little benefit to the country. The unfair charge is that cruise ships operate under “flags of convenience” provided by countries that minimize supervision, that the ships pay no local taxes and are subject to local labor laws. Since passengers eat and sleep on board, they spend little on shore. Nonetheless, when a flu scare caused many ships to cancel visits, Mexico lost millions of dollars normally spent on sightseeing, taxis and in souvenir shops.
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Jimm Budd
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