Mexico will start charging $42 fee for each cruise ship passenger

Mexico’s Senate has voted to charge cruise ship passengers $42 per person for port calls, drawing sharp criticism from the tourism industry.

Mexican business chambers say the immigration charge — from which cruise passengers used to be exempt — may hurt the country’s half-billion-dollar-per-year cruise industry.

The measure approved Dec. 3 has already been passed in the lower house and will go into effect in 2025. The changes were part of a bill that also increases airport immigration charges and entry fees for nature reserves.

Mexico’s Caribbean coast is home to Cozumel, the busiest port of c...