The Morning After Odile
Eduardo Segura, managing director of the Los Cabos Tourism
Board, has been speaking recently about the amazing recovery effort in Los
Cabos after the devastation of Odile. At present, with 7100 of 14,000 available
hotel rooms now open, visitors to the area would be hard pressed to tell that a
major storm had passed through so recently.
“By the end of December, we are expecting 10,000 rooms to be
open and available for our guests – just in time for high season,” he said
adding “Since the major tourism infrastructure, including roads, was not
damaged during Hurricane Odile, help and aid was able to arrive very quickly
following the storm.”
Because of the quick response, Los Cabos was able to host the annual Los Cabos Billfish
Tournament and the Bisbee’s Black & Blue Tournament only one month after
the storm.
In fact, Segura noted, virtually all scheduled events,
including the Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot, the Los Cabos International Film
Festival, the VIP Summit for key Los Cabos travel partners and the Sabor a Cabo
Food & Wine Festival, were able to take place as scheduled. The only
exception, said Segura, was the Cabo Comedy Festival, which was postponed until
February, and Sammy Hagar’s Birthday Bash which was scheduled to take place the
week before Bisbee’s and when, ironically, Cabo had effectively re-opened for
business.
A full International air service is returning to normal,
with the Los Cabos International Airport accepting 35 domestic and
international flights daily through Terminal 2. Segura said the airport itself
is expected to be 100 percent operational by year’s end.
For the most part, Los Cabos’ golf courses sustained minor
damage. “Currently, nine of our existing 12 golf courses are open,” he said.
The remaining three are slated to reopen within the next month, with the
exception of Palmilla Golf Course, which is scheduled to open in March.
“The big news is that in December we’ll be welcoming two
high-profile newcomers to the Los Cabos golf scene -- Quivira Golf Club,
designed by Jack Nicklaus and El Cardonal, located at Diamante, which will be
Tiger Woods’ first completed 18-hole course,” said Segura, adding that the
courses are slated to open on Dec. 4 and 16 respectively.
Going forward, Segura noted that new hotel development continues
apace. “We have several hotels planning to open within the next two-and-a-half
years, bringing an additional 1,900 rooms to the destination,” he said,
including the Ritz-Carlton Reserve, JW Marriott, Thompson Cabo San Lucas and
Park Hyatt. “Hard Rock and Le Blanc have also announced plans to build in Cabo
within the next few years,” Segura said.
“We’ve been hearing from many travelers and agents who have
been here post-Odile that you can’t even tell a storm passed through,” Segura concluded.
“The destination is as beautiful as ever. Los Cabos is back and better than
ever – it’s unstoppable.”
Cabo Now