Hurricane Helene swiped Cancun yesterday, hammering the area with heavy rains and gusty winds and resulting in flight cancellations (including yours truly), cruise itinerary changes and the cancellation of this year’s Travel Market Conference.
Helene hit Mexico Wednesday as a tropical storm before rapidly intensifying on its track to Florida where it’s set to make landfall as the biggest hurricane to hit the US in more than a year. A state of emergency is in effect for 41 of the 67 counties in Florida.
The Travel Market Conference, which was to be held on Marco Island, FLA September 26-29 is attended by 1,000 leading advisors from across Canada and the US for three days of professional development, networking, and inspiration.
“After much careful consideration, we’ve made the very disappointing decision to postpone this year’s Travel Market conference,” organizers said in an email late Tuesday evening.
“We know that many of you have been concerned about the weather coming to Florida on Thursday. Travel that day is already being disrupted, and with so many attendees expected to arrive then, we decided to postpone. We are excited to share details about next year’s event soon with you and welcome you there.”
Hotels and resorts are of course prepared in these cases, implementing strict protocols to keep guests and employees safe.
“We’ve returned to business as usual for us at Sandos Resorts,” BDM Juan Carlos told TravelPulse Canada. “We enacted our storm and hurricane protocols with the safety of our guests and employees our highest priority.”
Helene is forecasted to hit Florida’s Big Bend Area Thursday night as a Category 4 Hurricane and travel inland towards Atlanta, GA on Friday.
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that Tropical Storm John, which made landfall on Monday across the Pacific coast of Mexico, is hurtling back to the area again, expecting to hit mainland today (Thursday). John already triggered flooding and landslides and left at least five dead when it hit the first time. Acapulco, still reeling from the devastating remnants of hurricane Otis last year, is currently under a warning.