World Travel News

Hurricane Wilma slammed into Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula Friday with huge waves and severe winds, flooding streets, washing away beaches and damaging hotels in the popular tourist region.

Huge waves pounded the coast and hotels were evacuated in the resort city of Cancun, where local reports said streets were under water. The storm, with winds of 220 kilometres an hour, was expected to linger over Yucatan for up to 24 hours, U.S. forecasters said.

On Cozumel island, a tourist spot about 60 kilometres south of Cancun where hotels have been emptied, the hurricane mangled beach restaurants, uprooted trees, toppled power poles and damaged coral reefs.

The U.S. National Hurricane Centre rated Wilma an ‘extremely dangerous’ Category 4 storm - one below the top speed level.

Next in its path was Cuba, where heavy rains set off by the hurricane’s fringes led authorities to evacuate nearly 400,000 people, including 250,000 in the capital Havana, to get them away from possible mudslides and flooding.

Tourism minister James Purnell has set up a task force for the culture, media and sport industries as part of the government’s efforts to lessen the burden of red tape on businesses in the sectors.

The newly-formed Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) Better Regulation Panel will work to secure reductions in the administrative constraints that businesses in the sectors face.

The group will focus on both regulations that the DCMS is responsible for and the impact other departments’ regulations have on these industries.

A SCOTTISH tourism campaign boosted the country’s economy by more than £40 million, it was announced today.

The Welcome to Our Life campaign last year promoted the country in Continental Europe and highlighted the different activities visitors could experience.

The £1.6 million drive was prompted by research that showed people’s holiday preferences were more likely to be influenced by factors such as age, gender, lifestyle and income rather than their nationality. It led to a 110 per cent increase in traffic on the VisitScotland website from Germans.

The success of the campaign is highlighted in the tourist body’s annual report, which notes that every £1 spent on the Welcome campaign brought in £23 to the country’s economy.

THE NATIONAL tourism agency, VisitScotland, has been criticised for failing to give adequate financial support to the showcase Gaelic music and culture event, the Royal National Mod.

Organisers of this year’s week-long festival in the Western Isles said the agency had not given proper recognition to the role the Mod plays in attracting visitors from all over the world.

The Mod promotions manager, Murdo Morrison, welcomed VisitScotland’s assistance in bringing over a delegation of Irish journalists to promote the festival in their own country. However, he said the agency could do more to assist the Mod develop its global dimension.

“It’s like banging your head against a brick wall,” said Mr Morrison. “I know Bord na Gaidhlig [the national Gaelic development agency] are to hold a meeting with them soon, and we hope to do the same.”

Tourism in Northern Ireland’s could benefit from licensing law reforms which would enable later pub opening hours, the drinks trade said today.

Representatives of publicans and other outlets that sell alcohol have welcomed a Department of Social Development consultation on the licensing laws which will examine a range of matters including flexible opening hours, enforcement and health promotion.

But some politicians are strongly opposed to any move towards 24-hour licensing that could flow from the consultation.

Round the clock drinking is likely to be one of a number of options considered for the province, but the imminent introduction of 24-hour licensing in England has caused a storm of controversy there.

Any change in the laws in Northern Ireland is expected to come into effect in 2007.