Mexico’s fastest-growing port endures severe hurricane damage
Some areas such as Belize saw only minimal damage from Hurricane Dean, but Mexico’s fastest growing tourist destination and cruise port suffered a knockout punch that will probably leave it closed for at least six months.
Almost half of the infrastructure at the port of Costa Maya on Mexico’s southern Yucatan Peninsula near the Belize border was damaged, according to Cesar Lizarraga, the port’s director of sales and marketing. He estimated it could take up to eight months for the port to return to business as usual.
Also damaged was the cruise ship terminal, which was the Western Caribbean’s first port designed exclusively for the cruise line industry.
“Costa Maya is able to accommodate three ships at once and entertain visitors to a destination that showcases the ancient and colonial heritage of the Mexican Caribbean with all of today’s conveniences,” says its Web site.
In Belize, meanwhile, officials say early estimates and initial hotel reports indicate very minimal damage.
Officials there attributed the lack of damage to a high level of preparedness.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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