Canadian Airline is spreading the News.....!!!!!!

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Just received this article this morning & wanted to pass it along......



Featured Destination - Cancun
AS CANCUN CONTINUES ITS STEADY RECOVERY FROM WILMA’S WRATH, SUNQUEST RETURNS WITH FULL CONFIDENCE

Between Friday October 21st and Saturday October 22nd, 2005, the eye of Hurricane Wilma – at that time a Category 3 storm with wind gusts reaching up to approximately 240 km/h – passed directly over the tiny island of Cozumel, Mexico, before moving onto the popular tourist areas of Playa del Carmen and Cancun.

On the eve of the region’s peak tourism season, Wilma unleashed devastation upon the area, complete with a storm surge that reached upwards of 10.8 feet or 3.3 metres.

Many hotels and resorts in the Cancun area are now open and welcoming back guests, with others scheduled to reopen shortly, and many are opening much earlier than initially expected. In fact, as things stand right now, Sunquest’s Cancun and Mayan Riviera program is coming back and coming back strong.

In the downtown area of Playa del Carmen, it is business as usual and many of the area golf courses are open as well. In Cancun, the most obvious damage is to parts of the beach itself, where the sea has swallowed up the sand and estimates say it will be a few months before everything is back to normal.

But despite this setback, most of the hotels that had to shut down used that time to their advantage, making major renovations and upgrades, so that they are reopening now as new and improved versions, while others are back to their original glory.

The hotels and resorts, as well as the general infrastructure in the Mayan Riviera and other areas further south, emerged relatively unscathed, with many places even ending up with more beach then they had pre-Wilma.

For Sunquest, the biggest emergency occurred in the days prior to Wilma making landfall in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, when the storm was a massive Category 5 (fortunately losing some strength before hitting). The decision was made to evacuate the area.

At that point in time Sunquest had approximately 600 passengers in the area, and we managed to evacuate approximately 500 of those passengers before the hurricane made landfall. This was all done in the 24 hours prior to the closure of the Cancun airport, a great feat indeed.

Of the 100 or so passengers that weren’t evacuated prior to the hurricane hitting, there were some that chose to stay and ride it out, and others who had purchased air-only tickets from us, making it very difficult to track them down in time to get them out before Wilma hit.

In the days following Wilma, we worked very hard to first find, and then to return, those remaining passengers. Every day, at least a twice a day, we’d provide updates to travel agents and consumers about the situation in Cancun. Not only that but we also had to reorganize everything for the people who were supposed to fly down to Cancun and the Mayan Coast that week.

People were free to cancel and get a full refund for their trip; they could also go to one of our other sun destinations. Extra flights were added to Jamaica, Puerto Plata, La Romana, Curaçao and Cayo Coco, with extra space arranged in hotels there.

For Cancun to get such a direct hit by such a big hurricane, it has been quite a blow to the travel industry. At Sunquest, it is our number one sun destination, and during the peak winter season, we usually operate 31 flights per week there from gateways across Canada. In addition, our program in Cozumel has been cancelled completely for this winter.

One positive thing that did come all of this is that the hurricane actually worked to bring Sunquest closer to travel agents and customers alike. Throughout it all, even with the long waits on the phone, we received nothing but positive feedback.


Here is just a sampling of what we were hearing back from agents and customers alike:

"I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for these timely advisories. Please keep them coming. Thanks again and hang in there through these difficult times!"

"I want to compliment you on your website! You are the only tour operator that posted timely information on the Wilma situation. Hats off to you!"

"My wife & I would like to sincerely thank your company for organizing our departure out of Cancun (unfortunately during our honeymoon) preceding the closure of Cancun airport and hence preventing us from being stuck there during the hurricane with our safety in possible jeopardy."

"We are not scheduled to travel to Cancun until the beginning of December, but just wanted to commend you on your efforts in keeping the public well informed! We did not expect the level of communication on your website, nor the exceptional and friendly staff on your phones. Thanks so much for your professionalism in what we are sure is a very difficult time for your company."

"I have been very impressed with the manner in which Sunquest handled the "Wilma" situation. I appreciate that I was able to get a full refund for my trip without any hassle. Also, I appreciate that you did a great job of keeping travellers informed through your advisories. I have been spreading the word about the excellent service I received from Sunquest and will be sure to travel with you in the near future. Keep up the good work!"

"Great work on keeping us updated in the hurricane Wilma situation. If not for Sunquest updates we would still be in the dark. Thanks again."



The response was overwhelming and greatly appreciated. We have since seen statistics that reflect these positive words. According to a recent survey, over 95% of our passengers indicated that they were "likely" or "very likely" to travel with Sunquest again.


For more photos, information and detailed on-the-spot reporting from a member of the Sunquest team, Chuck Baltrunas, visit our Cancun updates here.