By Lori Tenny
ACAPULCO -- Tourism services here were nearly back to normal in
the wake of Hurricane Pauline, which left minor scars on the resort
areas but wreaked havoc on the local population, Sectur, Mexico's
Ministry of Tourism, said. Pauline devastated hill towns above the
resorts and was blamed for the deaths of some 200 local people, but
it caused only power outages, some flooding and cosmetic damage to
beachfront hotels.
By Oct. 13, Acapulco's main hotels were welcoming delegates to
the World Mining Congress, which was scheduled to be opened Oct. 14
by Mexico President Ernesto Zedillo at the city's convention
center. Most of Acapulco's power and phone service had been
restored, and the water, mud and debris on the Costera Miguel
Aleman, the resort's main strip, had been cleaned up, as was debris
in the bay, a spokesman for Sectur said. He added that flights were
operating on schedule into and out of Acapulco's airport, which was
closed on Oct. 9 and for part of the day Oct. 10.
A portion of the highway that follows the coastline between the
hotel zone and the airport was damaged, and the detour route, which
runs along a new highway, has added up to 45 minutes to the
commute. Officials said the road is expected to be repaired within
the next week. Mexico wholesalers contacted in the U.S. reported
little disruption of services and few cancellations.
Friendly Holidays received a number of inquiries from clients
booked on future Acapulco trips. "The perception is that Acapulco
is badly damaged, but we know it is a short-term issue," said
Enrique Klein, the firm's vice president of marketing and
operations for Mexico. Klein said Friendly, which is based in Lake
Success, N.Y., was flexible with clients who wanted to postpone
Acapulco trips departing this week or who asked to change
destinations.
But tour operator Express Holidays was advising clients to avoid
Acapulco until the end of the week. Norm Hansen, the San Diego
firm's president, said possible power problems and mud were likely
to inconvenience clients.