CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Prompted by booking levels running about 16%
behind the same time last year, Club Med closed 11 villages
worldwide.
In the three weeks immediately following Sept. 11, Club Med said
its reservations fell by 50% compared with September 2000.
The company estimated the effects of the terrorist attacks will
cost about $22 million for November and December.
The village closures follow:
• Huatulco, Playa Blanca and Sonora Bay, all in Mexico, will be
closed until winter 2002-2003.
• Two Caribbean villages -- the 264-room Club Med Columbus Isle
on San Salvador, Bahamas, and the 256-room Club Med St. Lucia --
shut down and will reopen for the winter 2002-2003 season. Club Med
St. Lucia had been closed for renovations since summer 2000.
• Other villages being closed for various periods are Assinie,
Ivory Coast; Cherating, Malaysia; Mare Nostrum, Greece; Coral
Beach, Israel; Amoun, Egypt, and Tenerife, Canary Islands.
Club Med said it is considering closing four or five more
villages.
Three villages will close for reasons unrelated to business
conditions -- Djerba la Douce, Tunisia (renovations); Leysin,
Switzerland (expiring lease), and Byron Bay in Australia
(sale).
Overall, the closings will reduce Club Med's worldwide capacity
by about 15% compared with the previous winter. About 80 of the
company's villages will be open this winter, with 30 of these in
mountain locations.
Club Med said its European ski village capacity is up by about
10%, and the firm is pushing its ski product heavily on the
Continent.