Nearly half a million Americans flew to Mexico in October — the most recent month for which data is available — mainly to beaches on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.

That figure was down by a third compared to last October, but it was a minor drop-off compared to a more than 80% decline in visits from Canada and Europe.

The influx of Americans is a ray of hope for the country’s battered tourism sector, which has hemorrhaged more than $11 billion this year.

At the same time, travel from the United States appears to have contributed to an uptick in coronavirus cases and deaths in many tourism hot spots.

Mexico’s official death toll last week surpassed 113,000 — the fourth highest in the world — although officials say that many cases have gone undetected and that the true tally is likely double that.