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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | October 2005 
Mexico's Tourism Industry Hit Hard
 Noel Randewich - Reuters
| | Soldiers and federal police took to Cancun's streets to prevent further theft Monday, while President Vicente Fox announced plans to start evacuating 30,000 frazzled tourists as he worked to restore the image of a carefree Caribbean beach paradise. |
Cancún, Mexico — Luxury hotels in Mexico's Caribbean beach resorts have shut down and will not reopen for the peak Christmas season because of multimillion-dollar damage caused by Hurricane Wilma.
Hotel damage in the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, home to the white-sand, azure-sea resorts of Cancún and Cozumel, is estimated at up to $1.5 billion, with rooms smashed by winds and rain and lobbies and restaurants flooded.
A lack of power and running water has forced at least three hotel chains to close their resorts temporarily.
The Marriott chain closed its three resorts in Cancún to the end of December, and the Ritz-Carlton Cancún said on its Web site it was closing and not taking reservations until the New Year.
Executives of the Hyatt hotel chain were traveling to Cancún on Monday to evaluate damage and the group's two hotels will be closed for a month, maybe longer, a spokesman said.
Jesus Almaguer, head of the Association of Hotel Owners for Quintana Roo state, said hotel reconstruction would cost $1.5 billion and could take three or four months.
Almaguer estimated that 80 percent of all rooms in the state's $3 billion-per-year hotel industry were damaged.
Torrential rain and howling winds blew in windows and wrecked beds and furniture.
It is not clear how cruise liners would operate at Mexican ports, with some piers damaged or vanished and bars and restaurants struggling to open.
One of three piers used by cruise ships visiting the scuba-diving resort of Cozumel disappeared in the storm, and a second pier was substantially damaged, according to a Web site note from divers based on the island.
Airports at Cancún and Cozumel remained closed. Asur, the company that operates the terminals, said it was unclear what damage was caused to runways and buildings and how many flights will be lost.
Alaska Airlines has not flown in or out of Cancún since Wednesday. The Seattle-based carrier operates just one flight per day, from Los Angeles.
The earliest Alaska will resume flights to Cancún will be Wednesday, but Amanda Tobin, an Alaska spokeswoman, said the airline is keeping an eye on the weather and staying in close contact with the airport's operators.
Alaska is considering a variety of options to get stranded passengers back from Mexico as quickly as possible.
Alaska may temporarily put a 737-900 with 172 seats on the route, rather than the 737-700 with 124 seats that normally serves Cancún.
Alaska is providing updates on its schedule and its policy for rebooking flights on its Web site, www.alaskaair.com.
Tobin said it is too early to tell whether bookings to Cancún or any of Alaska's other Mexico destinations will be adversely impacted by Wilma.
Alaska does a brisk business serving vacation centers on the west coast of Mexico, such as Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Los Cabos. |
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