Holidaymakers who were stranded in makeshift shelters as Hurricane Wilma pounded Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula are launching a group action against tour operators. Solicitors Alexander Harris are representing around 250 customers who travelled with MyTravel, Thomas Cook, Thomson, First Choice and Cosmos. It is believed they are claiming they should not have been flown to Mexico in the first place and that once Wilma struck, not enough was done to help. Health law firm Alexander Harris specialist travel litigation solicitor Simon Taylor said shortly after the devastation: "If a tour operator knows of a significant problem before departure, they have a duty to allow customers to cancel their trip and receive a full refund. "If the operator becomes aware of a problem after departure they must try to make suitable alternative arrangements or to offer to bring their customers home at no extra cost. Customers would also be entitled to compensation." If these were not met, operators would be in breach of contract and holidaymakers entitled to receive damages, said Taylor. He said today: "We currently act for over 250 people who were flown out to Mexico in the days immediately before Hurricane Wilma hit Cancun.  "Those holidaymakers feel that the tour operators should have been aware of the oncoming hurricane, in which case they had a duty to inform customers and to offer full refunds.  "There are also strong suggestions that the tour operators did not do enough to care for their customers who were already in the resort. This would also amount to a breach of regulations, for which customers would be entitled to compensation." Federation of Tour Operators director general Andy Cooper defended members in what he described were particularly difficult circumstances. "It’s easy to look back at say they could have done something different," he told TravelMole. "Trying to second guess the path of a hurricane is one of the hardest issues the industry faces. The biggest problem was that the hurricane lingered over Cancun for almost two days and the shelters are just not equipped for that." Almost 70 inches of rain fell on Cancun over 48 hours – London receives 23 inches in a year. Report by Steve Jones

Categories:  Breaking News, Travel Agent News, Tour Operator, Destination

USER COMMENTS

J Hewson ManagingPartner-Special Projects, VirtuallyThere.ca 18 February 2006, 10:46:17 GMT Ignorant Travellers Aided and Abetted by Tour Ops Any traveller should make themselves aware of conditions they might expect at their destination in the season they intend to visit. Anyone leaving a house checks the weather before selecting their outerwear; a weekend at the coast is preceded by a weather check - so why not when they are travelling to somewhere completely different? Travellers should also realise that many of their choice destinations are in developing countries with minimal infrastructure - let alone spare capacity for visitors. As for the tour 0ps, they should make a full disclosure, with all the worst case scenarios, in their publicity material. Finally, the travel agent or retail party accepting the money from the traveller should emphasise the need for insurance, provide internet links to information resources and do it in writing.   Kammy Thurman owner, Anchor Creative 16 February 2006, 20:13:36 GMT Somebody wants big bucks for a class-action suit Hmmm. Wonder who went to see whom about starting this lawsuit. Another example of our hyper-letigous judicial disfunction. It's blame-shifting at its best. Unfortunately the only ones who will come out better for it are the lawyers.   Steve Bridger Director, Mexicanwave 16 February 2006, 23:25:02 GMT An issue of trust Leaving the fine detail of the lawsuit to one side, these customers (albeit a relatively small percentage of the 8,500 who were caught up in Wilma) feel they have been let down. How have the tour operators responded in the ensuing months? Will I find weather warnings on their websites? I think not. What can we all learn from what happened? Steve www.afterwilma.info   Cheryl Reel 16 February 2006, 16:11:46 GMT Failure to assume responsibility This lawsuit is just another sad revelation of the lack of responsibility travellers take for their own decision to travel. It is no different than the folks who refused to leave the coast here before Katrina hit. Tour operators are not babysitters and should not be held to this level of liability. People need to purchase the waivers and cancel if conditions warrant. The Mexican people did the best they could under the circumstances.   Matt Stansfield Sunmaster 16 February 2006, 16:31:30 GMT I agree Barry These poor people who were affected ought to count themselves damn lucky to have simply come out of this alive - there were many many others who lost both loved ones, and every possesion they own. If you want to hold someone responsible for this type of natural disaster blame God, blame President Bush for poluting the atmosphere - even blame themselves for using CFC polutants in their precious deodorant that they had to survive without, whilst people where, and still are, surviving without running water..... just don't try and find a scapegoat in the tour operators who could have done absolutely nothing at all to prevent it!   Barrie Freeman Partner/Director, The Travel Man 16 February 2006, 10:59:49 GMT Even the experts cannot predict the path of a Hurricane For tour operators to be able to predict the path of a hurricane when experts who spend their lives studying hurricanes cannot do this seems to expect too much of a tour operator. The travelling public should be made aware that at certain times of the year there is the probability that severe weather conditions exist in the areas they are travelling to. This should be made aware to the traveller at the time the booking is made. Then it is up to the traveller to determine whether they are prepared to risk going. When a hurricane is taking place the tour operators personnel are in the same position as the public and are affected in exactly the same way as the public, so what are they supposed to be able to do. Seems amazing the 250 people all chose the same solicitors!