 CANCUN 2007 TRAVEL SEASON
Cancun is ready for the 2007 travel season!
Or should we say the New Cancun is ready!
 Cancun Beach Video NEW
Since Hurricane Wilma struck Cancun head-on in October, 2005 most of Cancun's hotels have reopened, many after months of multi-million dollar renovations.
Some are now offering insurance cancellation as part of their packages. However the 2006 season passed with no major storms and Cancun is looking good. Pushed to the brink of collapse it was either rebuild and clear out years of garbage and old sleazy venues or watch Cancun deteriate into a third class destination. They rebuilt instead.
Cancun Beaches Are Up to 50% Bigger Than Before Wilma
Within days of Hurricane Wilma a team from Belgium-based Jan De Nul Group arrived to survey the damage. Shortly after, a crew of 220 people began working on restoring Cancun's beautiful beaches. 55,000 cubic meters of sand was dredged up a few kilometers north, where surveys showed most of the sand had been pushed to by the storm. The sand was then transported back to the hotel strip and pumped through a massive pipe back onto the shoreline extending the present beach from 70 ft. to an average of 140 ft. Interestingly the Jan De Nul Group is the company that built the beaches and foundation for the Palm Islands in Dubai. Work on the Cancun beaches was completed in April.
In September the "Beach Clean Up" proceeded as usual getting everything ready for the 2007 season. This is an annual event that includes school children and local businesses. According to Diario de Yucatan last year's cleaners collected almost two million tins, as well as equivalent to 45,840 km of straws and drink mixers; and enough cigarette butts to fill 76,392 packages.
The Cancun hotel zone strip has been lined with 175,000 new plants and trees including 6,000 new full grown palm trees.
There are still somewhere in the neighborhood of ten to twenty major hotels under reconstruction in the Cancun Hotel Zone. The hotel strip is 22 km long so it in no way looks like a construction zone. In fact it is actually very interesting seeing the damage done by Wilma when you see a giant hotel totally devastated and under reconstruction.
If you are a regular visitor to Cancun the majority of what was there before Wilma is still there now. The odd landmark like Fat Tuesday is gone but there are new ones springing up. Unless you had a favorite hotel that was destroyed in the hurricane you probably would not really notice any difference, except for the odd hotel under construction.
Cancun is also expanding its airport and the first draft of a proposal to build a new bridge in Cancun was presented recently. The bridge will be just short of a kilometer in length, and carry four lanes of traffic.
Construction is slated to commence early in 2007. The bridge will cut the corner of the Party Centre, starting roughly opposite the Presidente Intercontinental Hotel and rejoin the Kukulcan Boulevard close to Senor Frogs. The bridge will speed up transfer times to hotels and airports.
New golf courses are also opening their greens for the 2007 season. This includes new signature golf courses, which will bring the total number of courses to 13, up from the present 5.
Mexican tourist officials are promoting Cancun as being fully revamped - bigger and better than it was before Wilma. Public and private investment for the rebuilding has totaled $1.5 billion, officials say. The makeover is meant to focus attention on the upscale hotels in the "quiet zone" well away from Cancun's late-night bars.
Some resorts used the opportunity to remodel and upgrade their premises. The Ritz Carlton invested $15 million to expand the size of its rooms, add tennis courts and build a culinary center before opening in September.
"In a very clear way, Hurricane Wilma has been good for Cancun. There were lots of hotels and clubs and restaurants that really needed more than a paint job. This has really forced everyone to take money out of the bank and use insurance claims to put money into the product," says Sergio Serra, director of sales for the Hilton Cancun Beach & Golf Resort which reopened May 1 after a $46 million post-Wilma renovation.
The Flamingo was also hit hard; it took two months and cost $2.5 million to repair bars, restaurants and 177 of its 260 rooms, where furniture had blown out the windows.
The Hyatt Cancun Caribe Resort has reopened its doors. The 20 million dollar investment includes not only a complete renovation and refurbishment but also a planned expansion of the number of rooms to a total of 316 by December 20th, 2006.
Some hotels like the Marriott Hotels and the Ritz Carlton are instituting a "Hurricane Insurance Policy" for guests that will help provide vacation protection for tourists traveling to the hotels during the hurricane season. The insurance will provide for protection 48 hours prior to departure if Hurricane warnings are issued.
Highway 307 is presently under construction expanding from two lanes to four from Cancun to Tulum. This construction is slated to be completed sometime in 2007. The highway is already four lanes in many places but all remaining two lane black-top is going four. This will really speed up travel along the coast.
For vactioners, many of your travel questions could probably be answered if you read these pages:
 Cancun Vacations
Info & Tips
Cancun All Inclusive
| 
