Last Year´s Hurricane Season Failed to Make Dent in Mexico´s Travel Industry

Nearly 22 million foreign tourists visited Mexico in 2005, 6.5 percent more than in 2004, the Tourism Department said Saturday. The visitors spent a total of $11.8 billion in Mexico, the department said in a news release.

The rise in tourists came in spite of three ferocious hurricanes that hit last year.

Hurricanes Emily, Stan and Wilma struck the country between July and October, killing 75 people and causing $2.15 billion worth of damage.

Wilma smashed directly into Cancun, the nation´s glitzy Caribbean resort, on October 22, damaging hotels and clearing sand from some beaches.

Nearly 40 percent of the country´s tourism income comes the Caribbean coast, according to Tourism Department estimates.