No Hurricane for the Riveria Maya and Playa del Carmen

November 30, 2007

Hurricane Season Officially Ends Today

The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends today and it's going out like a lamb -- the last named storm we saw this year was Noel, way back on October 16. Compare that to 2005, the busiest season on record, when more storms were still on the way come November 30 (the season closer, Zeta, formed on December 30 and hung around until January 6!). Indeed, hurricane activity across the Atlantic Basin this year was just slightly lower than expected. However, there was more action this year than last (14 named storms compared to 9, and 6 hurricanes compared to 5) -- and more of an impact on cruising. Of note is Category Five Hurricane Dean, which made landfall near Costa Maya, closing the port until fall of next year and devastating the nearby fishing village of Majahual. Through it all, Cruise Critic's news team was alive and kicking; for the second year in a row, our Hurricane Zone was updated regularly with to-the-minute itinerary changes, port closures and weather advisories. Read on for more facts and figures from Cruise Critic's hurricane team: Season Plays Out as Expected ... Almost: Fourteen named storms formed in the Atlantic this season, which was right on target with the estimated figure of 13 to 17. However, the number and severity of hurricanes fell short, making the season slightly less powerful than expected. Of six hurricanes that formed, two -- Dean and Felix -- were major (Category Three strength or higher). That is considered a "near normal" season, according to the NOAA; back in May, the NOAA called for a "above normal" season of with 7 to 10 becoming hurricanes and three to five becoming major hurricanes. Impact on Cruising: Again, Hurricane Dean had a huge impact this year; Costa Maya is still closed as the pier is rebuilt (about half of it was simply gone) and tourist village revitalized. The port's developers have confirmed that it will take until September 2008 to rebuild the day resort. In the meantime, cruise lines have replaced calls there with visits to ports such as Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Progreso and Roatan. The cruise port of Roatan, interestingly enough, just barely escaped the wrath of Hurricane Felix; thankfully, there was no major damage and just one itinerary affected. Activity Continues in the Pacific: As in 2006, the East Pacific season gave Mexican Riviera cruisers a run for their money. Mexican Riviera ports had several near-misses with Barbara, Flossie, Henriette, Ivo and Kiko (the latter two affected itineraries). Note: Historically, when the Atlantic experiences above-normal seasonal activity, the Pacific tends to experience below-normal seasonal activity and vice versa. Only One Hurricane Strikes U.S. in 2007: The hurricane season has ended with just one hurricane striking the United States: Humberto. Tropical Depression Barry came ashore near Tampa in June; Tropical Depression Erin brushed southeast Texas on August 16. Last year, no hurricanes reached the U.S. (in 2005, there were four, including the devastating Hurricane Katrina).

Playas growth goes down to Tulum!

Tulum, Mexico: A Growing Resort Town

Published on: Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Written by: Beth Anderson

Investors looking to cash in on growth in Mexico should take notice of Tulum, a sleepy town on the east side of the Yucatan peninsula in Quintana Roo, which has been heating up in the last few years.

Tulum boasts the most visited set of Mayan ruins in Mexico, a walled city built on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean, according to The New York Times. About an hour south of Cancun’s International Airport, Tulum is a natural day trip for tourists, and some developers in Tulum are looking to bring tourists and their money to the small Mexican resort town.

Part of the Mayan Riviera, Tulum boasts the most visited set of ruins in Mexico

“Property prices have tripled there in the past five years,” Ben Fitznar of Real Estate Investment and Development in Merida said in an e-mail interview. “Groupo Plan, which is Roberto Hernandez, of the City Bank/Banamex merger fame…and the Dicas Group of Merida, the wealthiest family in the Yucatan, have been working the Tulum area for years. In December, they are unveiling their Tulum joint venture, which will also include Scotia Bank. [It will have a] man-made lagoon for a marina, seven major hotels, three golf courses, a new town site and of course, plenty of shopping.”

Quintana Roo is Mexico’s fastest growing state, with more than one million residents, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the first major master-planned community in the area, 31 lots were pre-sold to American and European investors, even though the community is not on the beach, according to The Wall Street Journal. “The hottest section is near Tulum,” columnist Michael Allen wrote.

With plans such as these in the works, investors may want to start looking for properties in Tulum sooner rather than later.

“Playa del Carmen was the fastest growing community globally in 2005 and 2006,” Fitznar said. “Tulum will be next.”

As part of Tulum’s bid to grow into a global tourist destination, there is a great deal of speculation about construction of an airport in the Playa del Carmen/Tulum area. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A. de C.V. (ASUR), a private company that, with government approval, manages the nine airports in southeastern Mexico, hopes to build the proposed Riviera Maya airport, according to Maura Gedid, assistant vice president for the Breakstone Group, which handles ASUR's corporate communications.

“ASUR has publicly stated its intention to bid on the concession for a new airport in the Riviera Maya (Tulum) area,” Gedid said in an e-mail. “The government will run the bidding process, and as far as we know, that bidding process is not expected to begin until 2008.”

Playa del Carmen was the fastest growing community in 2005 and 2006

Some investors and real estate agents are banking on the airport to bring more business to the Riviera Maya resort area and are snapping up property in the vicinity of the proposed airport.

Tulum also borders the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sian Ka’an is the largest protected area in the Mexican Caribbean, according to Centro Ecologico Sian Ka’an (CESiaK), and is noteworthy for having unique geography, wetlands and 23 known archaeological sites. Approximately 36,000 tourists visited the reserve—intended primarily for scientific research—in 2000, according to CESiaK. That number has likely increased with the infrastructure improvements in the area during the last seven years.

With its convenient and beautiful location and recent growth, Tulum may be a real estate investor’s dream. Investors interested in Tulum should visit and speak with local real estate agents to get a better sense of the area. With plenty of resorts nearby, a trip to Tulum could be a relaxing jaunt for real estate investors interested in the area.

Longest underground river found

Longest underground river found
Mexico, Mar 02: Cave divers in Mexico`s Yucatan peninsula have discovered what may be the world`s longest underground river, connecting two cave systems with a waterway at least 95 miles long. A group of foreign divers exploring the area near the Caribbean beach resort of Playa del Carmen have yet to name the stretch, but believe it could be connected to two other major systems, adding more than 125 miles to its length. "It`s a bit of the Star Trek syndrome: the thrill of exploration, to go where no one has gone before," said diver Steve Bogaerts, who helped find the underground river. Prior to the discovery, the Palawan underground river in the Philippines and Vietnam`s Son Trach River vied for the record as the world`s longest. The area in southeast Mexico is home to tourist resorts Cancun and Cozumel, as well as Mayan ruins Chichen Itza and Tulum. It sits on a Swiss-cheese subsoil of limestone dotted with deep wells that are entrances to tunnels that have fascinated divers for decades. The local tourism board said 24,000 visitors went diving in the caves last year.