As news of swine flu spread earlier this week, those in the tourism industry wondered whether it would be financially detrimental to Key West. No one likely imagined it would be beneficial.

As cruise lines reroute ships to avoid Mexico, Key West will see 19 additional cruise ship port calls next month.

That could translate into $214,000 in additional revenue for May -- a preliminary estimate based on the information available on Wednesday afternoon, when schedules still were being finalized.

The new itineraries could continue beyond May, but officials were waiting to see how long the swine flu situation persists and poses a threat.

At least three cruise lines have been rearranging their ships' itineraries to avoid stops in Mexico, where the death toll from swine flu had reached 159 as of Wednesday afternoon. The Port Operations office was busy Wednesday, confirming schedules and ensuring the ships will have room to berth at one of Key West's three cruise ship docks.

Three ships in the Carnival Cruise Line -- Holiday, Valor and Fantasy -- will make additional stops in Key West throughout May, said Martha Arencibia in the Port Operations office. Royal Caribbean's Enchantment will be at Pier B at the Westin Key West Resort Marina for two additional Sundays in May, she said.

Revenue is based on which pier the cruise ships use. Larger ships docking at the Westin-owned Pier B and Navy-owned Outer Mole generate less because the city shares the revenue with the pier owners. The city receives 25 percent of the revenue from Pier B and 60 percent from the Outer Mole -- though technically less after factoring in the cost of transporting passengers through the Navy property.

Pier B is expected to generate an additional $40,000 for the city while five additional port calls at the Outer Mole will mean $69,000 more for the city, Finance Director Roger Wittenberg said.

The city receives an average of $15,000 per ship that docks at Mallory Pier. The seven additional port calls docking there in May translates to about $105,000 for the city coffers, he said.

But with the good comes the bad, and the flu outbreak this week forced New York-based television producers of NBC's "Today" to postpone their trip to Key West, which would have brought the entire broadcast to the Southernmost City for four hours on Tuesday, said Andy Newman, a spokesman for the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

The Jimmy Buffett concert that was scheduled to be included in the segment also has been postponed, said Newman, who spoke with the show's executive producer on Wednesday.

"She told me, 'We've been down there and already shot some great stories. We really want to do this, we just don't know what the timing will be,' " he said. "Everyone's disappointed, but it's pretty hard for us to control what's going on out there."

The "Today" segment was to include mention of the Vandenberg artificial reef, along with interviews with drag queens and an overview of the city.

"I think there's a tremendous opportunity that the show will still go on," Newman said. "Obviously, it's contingent on how long the swine flu dominates the media coverage."

mbolen@keysnews.com