Carnival Cruise Lines to Invest $150 Million in Mexico

Carnival Cruise Lines plans to invest more than $150 million to expand port infrastructure at destinations on Mexico's Pacific and Caribbean coasts, authorities said.

Carnival representatives and Mexican officials signed an agreement on the Caribbean island of Cozumel at a ceremony attended by President Felipe Calderon and tourism industry officials, the Tourism Secretariat said.

The company has invested $100 million so far in Mexico and is now planning the development of nine new projects, such as the construction of a cruise terminal in Cozumel and another in Baja California Sur state, Carnival Cruise Lines president and CEO Gerard Cahill said.

The new projects will bolster foreign exchange earnings, create more direct and indirect jobs in the tourism industry, and increase cruise-passenger arrivals in Mexico, Cahill said.

Mexico is "an attractive destination for the development of tourism businesses", the Carnival executive said.

Tourism industry leaders in the Caribbean resort city of Cancun, meanwhile, called on Calderon to back the campaign to counter the constant travel alerts for Mexico being issued by US authorities.

Members of the Caribbean Business Coordinating Council, or CCEC, have launched the "Stop Warning, Our Tourists Are OK" campaign.

Cancun and the Riviera Maya welcome an average of 50,000 students from across the US during spring break each year.