Update from Mexican news source

Wilma blamed for thousands of job losses

Wire servicesEl UniversalNovember 10, 2005The governor of the state hardest hit last month by Hurricane Wilma says at least 3,000 people lost their jobs because of damage done by the storm.
Félix González Canto, governor of Quintana Roo, said in reporting the figure that most of those people probably will be rehired once the Caribbean coastal resort area that includes Cancun gets back on its feet.
The government of Quintana Roo estimates that 800,000 residents of the state make their living in some part of the tourist industry.
Most hotels and other enterprises catering to foreign visitors pledged to President Vicente Fox that they would keep employees on the payroll while repairs and reconstruction proceed, and most have kept that promise.
González said reconstruction, which is expected to absorb many laid-off workers, will cost about US2.25 billion, with most of that coming from insurers and the rest from the federal government.
BIG TOURIST DRAW Quintana Roo is Mexico's main tourist destination, drawing more than 10.8 million visitors last year.
Authorities and hoteliers estimate that Wilma damaged 80 percent of the tourism infrastructure in Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Holbox and Isla Mujeres when the slowmoving storm battered the region for three days beginning Oct. 21.
Mexico earned US8.4 billion in revenue from tourism during the first eight months of this year, with the Caribbean resorts accounting for 40 percent of the total.
President Vicente Fox said in late October that his administration will provide at least US316 million worth of loans to spur speedy reconstruction.
The president also pledged sweeping tax breaks for business investment in the tourist mecca, with some expenditures completely tax-deductible, and said the federal government will immediately provide funds for beach restoration in the area.
Prior to Wilma's rampage across the Yucatan, authorities were expecting the country's revenues from tourism to reach US13 billion in 2005, a gain of US2 billion over last year.