Mexico's tourism has been hit hard by the outbreak of the A/H1N1 flu, the Mexican government said on Saturday.

The occupancy rate for major tourist sites in Mexico is expected to decline by 44.8 percent in the coming ten days, Mexican tourism authorities predicted.

Tourism Minister Rodolfo Elizondo told a press conference that a series of cultural, business and academic activities in Mexico have been canceled, including the world pediatrics conference which had been expected to draw some 4,000 podiatrists worldwide.

In such resorts as Cancun and the Maya coast, the occupancy rate of hotels, which should have been flooded with tourists in this season, has decreased to 77.8 percent since April 23 when the government announced urgent anti-flu measures.

He also confirmed that such countries as Cuba, Canada, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Chile have canceled their flights to Mexico, while the number of U.S. tourists to Mexico has seen a sharp fall.

The minister asked the country's tourism centers to conduct a precise analysis of their economic losses caused by the outbreak of A/H1N1 flu, which was previously reported as swine flu, to workout a remedy.

(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2009)