Hoi An bounces back from typhoon
With the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Ministerial Meeting scheduled from October 16th to October 18th in Hoi An as host city on Vietnam’s central coast, reports from the cCty say that all is ready for the arriving dignitaries, with a remarkably quick recovery from Typhoon Xangsane having been achieved.
The Life Heritage Resort Hoi An sustained damage when Xangsane made landfall on October 1, but within 72 hours of the storm’s passing, the 94-room resort was nearly fully operational.
Tran Minh Ca, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Nam province, reported that more than 1,000 tourists visited Hoi An in the three days following the storm, saying, “We feel very fortunate to have come through in the shape we did”.
Our hearts go out to the families and businesses that weren’t so lucky,” said Chris Duffy, general director of the Life Resorts Management Company, adding, “Tourism is a major employer in the central coast region and Xangsane was a blow, there’s no doubt, but we had an obligation to our workforce and our guests to reinstate a sense of normality as soon as possible”. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of General Manager Cathy McConkey and her staff, we achieved that in approximately 72 hours.
Located 2 kilometres inland on the Thu Bon River, the Ancient Town of Hoi An was spared the full force of Xangsane’s 170 km/hour winds and the Life Resort property remained on generator power post-storm as electricity was slowly restored, district by district, with town water services restored October 3
Chris Duffy said on October 9, “Currently we have 30 rooms off-line due to storm damage, however most of these will be returned to saleable inventory over the next 14 days.” “The swimming pool, pool bar, massage and wellness services, daily room servicing, electricity and water mains, Amsterdam Bar, Vienna Café and Al Fresco are all 100% operational”. “The recovery has been quite remarkable and, again, all the credit to our staff who despite personal risk and responsibilities at their own homes, unselfishly stayed through the storm weekend and thereafter to assist with the well being of our guests”.
He added, “I’ve been in Hoi An since the storm, and I’ve been down to the beach. Xangsane did major damage, with the beach resorts all badly hit, having absorbed the full brunt of the typhoon, whereas thanks to our location we got off lightly compared to others, but we will all recover.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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