Mexico City Is Handing Out Free Health Insurance to Tourists

Mexico City is having an awfully tough time pulling in tourists. Why? Well, there's this little "Swine Flu" thing that people are all hung up on (you may also have heard of H1N1?) and it's keeping tourists away from the border.

But fear not, dear traveller, for the kind Mexico City Tourism Board has a solution for you: free health insurance.

That's right: as an incentive to increase tourism to Mexico, the city's tourism office teamed up with (well, "teamed" may be too nice a word) MAPFRE, a private insurance company.

Anyone staying at a Mexico City hotel is eligible for coverage, officials said, and can get help by dialing a call center, which will have attendants fluent in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. A deductible will apply for some services, but officials did not provide details.

Obviously, in an ideal world, this isn't even an issue and everyone goes to Mexico City, doesn't contract H1N1 and gets to come home without having to pay any deductible or visit any Mexico City hospitals.

Well, actually, in an ideal world, my bosses call me into their offices and say, "Hey, you! You're great. Here's a two-week vacation to Cancun. Enjoy!" And then I go there and don't get H1N1 and actually get offered a job blogging about paradise from a cabana and never have to come back to America. But things don't always work out like we want.

So, um, yeah. The point I was trying to make is that it seems pretty clear -- based on the potential financial loss here -- that Mexico is safe now. Right? Or maybe not. Regardless, it's just the flu.

Mexican Resorts Raise the Stakes

It's no surprise that the H1N1 flu virus (swine flu) has taken an incredible toll on Mexico's tourist industry. As a result, some resorts in Mexico are going to great lengths to restore tourists' confidence.

The PR strategies began simply, with several destinations in Mexico touting their own lack of fatal swine flu cases. Now resorts are taking a similar approach to American automakers who assuage consumer fears by promising to cover payments in the event of a job loss... with an obvious medical twist:

Real Resorts is offering any guest who contracts the H1N1 flu virus within 14 days of visiting any of its resorts in Cancun or Playa del Carmen up to one free return trip a year for the next three years (same dates, length of stay and accommodation).

The guest must have it confirmed as H1N1 and must provide a positive blood result for the flu by a state-certified laboratory within 14 days of checkout, Real Resorts said. The "flu-free" guarantee applies to travel between May and October.

The deal was released less than a week after AMResorts launched an almost identical offer of three free vacations to any guest who books in Mexico between May 8 and June 30 and contracts the flu while staying at an affiliated property anytime through Dec. 20.

For more information on these incredible deals and resorts, call your travel agent or visit www.professionaltravelguide.com.

Swine Flu Cancels Tijuana Potros' Baseball Season

The swine flu has claimed another economic casuality, this time in the form of the Tijuana Potros, who were scheduled to begin their first season in the Golden Baseball League.

The Potros' games -- which apparently represented 10% of the GBL's total schedule -- will force the GBL to readjust their schedule, and the Potros have stated that they intend to play in another year, but don't believe the 2009 season to be economically viable.

"The H1N1 virus health risk and the necessary government response and actions have wreaked havoc with the economy and businesses small and large throughout the country," said Tijuana Potros President Jose Manuel Pena. "It is not possible to operate with this uncertainty that keeps sponsors from committing, fans from buying tickets, and the stadium unavailable to host public events."

Now, not to make light of swine flu (EVER!) but, really? Couldn't they just rent out a baseball park in Arizona to play the games? Or have the league schedule the first half of their season on the road while we wait for this thing to go all SARS-y on us? I mean, that would guarantee at least some revenue without dogging the rest of the league over. And the people of Tijuana would get their baseball. Of course, people might not be so gung-ho to play road games, but worst case: the Potros could parlay multiple forfeits into postseason home-field advantage and a championship in their first year.

Via Rovell's Twitter

Swine Flu: Some Good News for a Change

I'll cop to not believing in the power of swine flu. I mean, yes, it seems dangerous, but only so much in the sense that SARS was. But, I was starting to come around: that's what will happen to you if you're embedded in the media or the internet too much.

However, recent evidence from many scientists, as reported by Wired.com, appears to indicate at least some marginally good news.

[Their] findings fit the notion that more Mexicans are infected than was
originally thought, that severe cases represent a fraction of the outbreak, and
that mortality rates are lower than originally feared.

“If the calculations are correct,” said Slezak, “it’s indeed supportive of the other
data that seems to agree that this is not going to be a catastrophic
outbreak."

So, yeah. Not "catastrophic"!!!! Seriously, this is good news though; we've got everyone in the world freaking out about the swine flu, and to possibly hear that something (read: anything) "not horrible" might stem out of this piggy pandemic is a huge bonus. Carry on with your freakout.

Swine Flu Concerns Cause US Officials to Caution Against Mexican Travel

The dreaded SWINE FLU is making the "bird flu" rounds in America right now: everyone is terrified of this virus that's sweeping the nation with it's coughing and sneezing and occasional hospitalization.

And as a result, US officials are cautioning against "nonessential travel to Mexico."

This isn't the first time either (this year even!) that people are becoming terrified of our neighbors to the South. Crime sprees near Tijuana had people all kinds of freaked out earlier -- and much of that terror still remains, only now it's being amplified by the threat of semi-serious disease.

What's weird is that the CDC (Center for Disease Control) is kind of freaking out about this, yet, everyone has recovered from the dreaded SWINE FLU. I'm not saying we should take it lightly and laugh at it (Lord knows I think I actually contracted a case sitting in a phone booth at the Philadelphia airport this morning) but what I don't get is that if this virus makes people feel sick why they would treat it any differently than a normal case of the flu.

But here's a more relevant point in terms of travel: GO TO MEXICO. Seriously, do it. Swine flu isn't sweeping the entire country, no more than it is infecting all of America. Which means, right now, you can probably sneak across the border for a Caribbean vacation on the straight-up cheap. Personally, I recommend checking out some of Apple Vacations' deals.