Weekly Wrap: Despite Hurricane, Mexico Travel Remains Strong

Photo courtesy of Twitter member @LUISFELIPE_P

This week the biggest story in the travel sector was the tragic hurricane that struck Los Cabos

Los Cabos continues the process of evacuating travelers stranded by Hurricane Odile. The Los Cabos airport is running on an emergency generator, and the U.S. State Department is urging travelers to take a flight out as soon as possible. The Mexican air force is airlifting travelers as commercial flights are unavailable. Here is the latest full list of Los Cabos hotels and tour operators impacted by the hurricane.

While many hotels in the area are still assessing the damage, 2014 has seen a run of promising travel developments, both in Los Cabos and in the rest of Mexico

During a recent visit to Virtuoso Travel Week, Mexico editor Meagan Drillinger learned about a slate of new luxury developments in store for the region. Key properties to watch are the new Thompson Cabo San Lucas, as well as The Resort at Diamante. The upcoming Ritz-Carlton Reserve will open with 124 villas, and a new Park Hyatt and JW Marriott are in the works as well.

The start of summer also saw the announcement of new airlift to Los Cabos. Delta Air Lines has added two new flights from San Diego and Seattle, as well as a new nonstop flight from New York JFK, to begin this December. Delta is also increasing its Detroit – Los Cabos service from one flight per week to a daily nonstop service; increasing its Salt Lake City service from four to seven flights per week; and increasing its Minneapolis service to eight flights per week. 

Improving Travel Safety

Elsewhere in Mexico, the country continued to improve its image regarding travel safety. Puerto Vallarta hired the College Station Texas Police Department to conduct a security assessment on the destination in July. The study found the destination safe for visitors and that travelers felt comfortable walking around the destination. 

The study dovetailed with what we had been hearing from Mexico travel experts at our roundtable at Tianguis Turistico back in May. 

“People are calling me about Mexico and not asking about security. They are just going,” Hope Smith, owner of Born to Travel, said at the time. “My business to Mexico City especially has increased. I can’t believe how many people are going.”

“Mexico is our largest growth market,” says Mitch Toren, chief vacation engineer, Trip Guy. “Two years ago Mexico was off the table before you could even pitch it. We see much less resistance now.”

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