Mexico’s congress votes to charge cruise ship passengers $42 per head for port calls

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Cruise ship industry players are up in arms after the lower house of Mexico’s Congress voted this week to charge a $42 immigration levy for every passenger on cruise ships that dock in Mexico. Two-thirds of the money raised, moreover, would go to the Mexican army, not to improve port facilities. The Mexican Association of Shipping agents cried foul, saying the charges could make Mexico uncompetitively expensive for cruise ships. There have been initiatives throughout the world to clamp down on cruise ships for fear of over-tourism, but that train already left the station on Mexico’s Caribbean coast.