Hurricane Wilma Became Major Debate Issue at CTC-28

Caribbean tourism officials who attended the 28th annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC-28) in St. Thomas kept a wary eye on Wilma´s path as it tracked over the Yucatan and on through Florida. In fact, the impact of the storm kept officials from CTO-member Cancun, Mexico, from attending the conference altogether.

The subject of hurricanes and their impact on regional tourism was an issue raised again and again at the conference.

During a class in crisis communications for the tourism industry at CTC-28, Andy Cooper, CEO of the UK-based Federation of Tour Operators (FTO), which represents the 12 largest tour operators in the UK, reported that his group was trying to evacuate 8,500 British travelers who were caught in Cancun during Wilma.

“The Mexican government just informed us that we had to supply aircraft to get these people out of Cancun,” Cooper said. “We´ve worked crisis situations before, such as the tsunami last December and the Sharm el Sheik terrorist incidents this past summer. We will organize enough aircraft to get our citizens out, but this is a real challenge.”

He said FTO´s plan was to move the British guests first to the Dominican Republic and then get them home to Britain.

“It would be helpful if the arrival and departure taxes in the Dominican Republic were eliminated in this situation,” he said.

Meanwhile, airline officials from American and Spirit Airlines, who were attending CTC-28, immediately organized teams to assess the situation in Cancun, although the airport there was not expected to open until Tuesday afternoon.