Mexico said on Tuesday its beach resorts were safe from the H1N1 flu, as the country struggled to rescue its tourist industry from cancellations and billion-dollar losses.

Mexico is the epicenter of the flu outbreak that has spread to dozens of countries worldwide, mostly through travelers who have visited Mexico.

Tourism is one of Mexico’s main dollar generators, along with oil exports and remittances sent from Mexicans living abroad. The government estimates the country could lose $4 billion from tourists staying away due to the epidemic.

“The tourist destinations are safe in Mexico,” Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said. “People can come back with peace of mind because we are monitoring this very intensely.”

The number of fatal victims in Mexico from the outbreak has risen to 58 from 56 as results of tests on people who died in recent weeks came in, Cordova said.

A total of 2,282 people in Mexico caught the new flu, a genetic mixture of swine, bird and human viruses, compared to 2,600 cases in the United States.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters)