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Is Swine Flu Hysteria a US Tourism Conspiracy?

Is the swine flu hysteria a United States domestic tourism conspiracy? We're talking about the huge hubbub around the outbreaks and not the flu itself, which is very much real, but has been hyped as a travel emergency by everyone from the airlines to the cruise ships to public transportation.

According to the New York Post's Page Six, a Mexican businessman attending a fancy-schmancy party in Manhattan offered a fresh take on the media frenzy over the H1N1 virus:

[He] said the flu outbreak was an American conspiracy to keep gringo tourists from traveling south of the border. 'In these recessionary times, the idea is to keep Americans at home spending money here,' the mogul opined. 'First it was the drug cartels, now this pig thing! The Americans are ruining our reputation.'

Them's fighting words if US air travelers, already freaked out at seeing fellow seatmates sporting masks and lathering on anti-bacterial lotion, get confused over whether or not to even trust their own country. And we're totally of the mind that the hysteria is really just an excuse to create new photoblogs, like this gem: Hot Guys In Flu Masks.

Future coffee table book of male models in masks or not, we're keeping our eyes open to the tourism tug-of-war currently going on between Mexico and the rest of the world. If Swine Flu can't even keep Heidi and Spencer north of the border, then we're pretty sure your average vacationing Joe won't be immediately deterred either.

Related Stories:
· Blame America [Page Six]
· Hot Guys in Flu Masks [Official Site]
· How Cruise Companies Are Dealing With Swine Flu [Jaunted]
· Swine Flu Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: OhLaLa Mag]