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(Redirected from Cancun, Quintana Roo)
'Cancún' (pronounced as ) is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula.
It is the municipal seat of Benito Juárez municipality and a world-renowned tourist resort with modern beachfront hotels surrounded by Isla Mujeres ("Women Island"), the Caribbean Sea, and the Nichupte and Bojórquez lagoons. The mainland downtown commercial section (Cancún City), connected to the island by two bridges, has broad avenues lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels.
The older section of the city, which follows the original master plan, consists of neighborhoods called supermanzanas (superblocks) that are formed by the intersections of the boulevards. They are characterized by winding streets with cul-de-sacs that tend to keep out the main flow of traffic, and usually have one or more parks and other green spaces.
To save on the cost of installing sewage systems and other public services, the design of much of the rest of the city reverted to the grid plan after Hurricane Gilbert (1988). The newest upper-middle-class residential areas reflect the original plan, but are much less initimate. Less expensive developments are comprised almost entirely of identical one- or two-story small row houses, sometimes built around interior plazas. Almost all buildings on the mainland are under four stories high.
Development of Cancún started in 1970 and was established as a city in 1972. It grew rapidly in the 1980s. According to American journalist Jules Siegel, who has lived in Cancún since 1983, the original master plan was repeatedly modified and, on the mainland, often ignored. He reports that despite initial skepticism that forced the Mexican government to finance the first eight hotels, Cancún soon attracted investors from all over the world. Approximately 50% of the Hotel Zone properties are owned by Mexicans — many of them local residents — but the figure is close to 100% for the mainland, he says. Hotel operating companies are international companies that supply administration and marketing services and these companies do not usually own the hotels themselves, Siegel explains. Even outlets of restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Domino's Pizza are Mexican-owned, he says.
The city has grown rapidly over the past thirty years to become a city of approximately 600,000 residents, covering the former island and the nearby mainland. Most 'cancunenses' here are from Yucatán and other Mexican states. A growing number are from the rest of America and Europe, according to Siegel, who was the translator of Fernando Martí's "Cancun, Fantasy of Bankers." He says that municipal authorities have struggled to provide public services for the constant influx of people, as well as to control squatters and irregular developments, which now occupy an estimated ten to fifteen percent of the mainland area on the fringes of the city. Siegel goes into more detail about common misconceptions concerning Cancun in a three-part article Cancun Bashing Is in Season, a brief portion of which was published in The Nation on October 20, 2003 as a letter in response to what he considered an inaccurate report by journalist Marc Cooper.
The city Cancún and its flourishing tourism industry were heavily damaged by Hurricane Wilma, which hit the area on October 22, 2005. As of January 31, 2007, the resort is almost completely repaired and operating normally, although minor pockets of damage still remain.
There are about 140 hotels in Cancún with 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants. Four million visitors arrive each year in an average of 190 flights daily. The Hotel Zone of Cancun is shaped like a backwards 7 with bridges on each end connecting to the mainland. Hotels on the vertical or long side of the 7 tend to have rougher beaches and beach erosion can be a problem. Resorts on the horizontal or short end of the seven tend to have more gentle surf because the waves here are blocked by the island of Isla Mujeres which lies just off shore. The Hotel Zone offers a broad range of accommodations, ranging from relatively inexpensive motel-style facilities in the older section closest to the mainland, to high-priced luxury hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton in the later sections.
Many of the hotels are time-share condominiums with kitchen facilities. Some all inclusive hotels where all meals, drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, hotel activities, entertainment, non-motorized water sports, tips and taxes are included in the price of the hotel rooms. There are also upscale private residences and lavish condominiums for rent that cater to the rich and famous. Restaurants, bars and shops in the hotel zone tend to be rather expensive compared with the downtown area and other Mexican resorts. Travelers will find many well-known theme restaurants and clubs here. Although the Hotel Zone is frequently described as "posh" or "exclusive" the main Cancún tourism market is middle- and upper-middle-class, according to government statistics, which also report that more than 37% of Cancún visitors are Mexican.
On the opposite side of the island from the Caribbean Sea is the Nichupte Lagoon, which is used for boating excursions and jet-ski jungle tours.
Downtown is home to less expensive places to shop, including supermarkets such as Walmart, Comercial Mexicana and Soriana, not to mention several flea markets like the one in the Hotel Zone.
Downtown Cancún offers a more cultural aspect, there are cuban/salsa type bars/restaurants. There are also many clubs for all types of people, but the hotels are more accessible to all types of travellers, including some with lower rates. International brands in Downtown area include Radisson Hacienda Cancún, Best Western Plaza Caribe, Oasis America.
The temperature of the city is warm, moderated by the marine breeze which circulates through its avenues. The temperatures are typically between 26°C and 36°C (78.8°F and 96.8°F) all year round. All hotel rooms in the Hotel Zone and most on the mainland are air conditioned. Weather is highly variable. During winter ''nortes'' (northerly storms) temperature drops sharply. In the course of a single day, the weather can turn from bright sunshine to dark and stormy and back again. It's not uncommon to look out one window and see sunshine, while rain is falling on the opposite side. Sun showers and rainbows are frequent throughout the year, but especially during the summer rainy season.
There are some (relatively) small ruins of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Cancún. Ruinas del Rey is located in the Hotel Zone. El Meco, a more substantial site, is found on the mainland just outside the city limits on the road to Punta Sam.
Although Cancun is better known as a travel and tourism destination, in recent years some colleges and universities have been offering higher educations to both Mexican and foreign students.
The first higher education institution established in the area was the Instituto Tecnológico de Cancún. Some other followed such as Universidad La Salle Cancún, Universidad Anahuac Cancún, Universidad Tecnológica de Cancún, Universidad del Caribe, and more recently the Universidad Interamericana para el Desarrollo and the Tec Milenium.
Cancún is located in one of the main Caribbean hurricane impact areas, but since it was founded it has received direct hits from only two major hurricanes, Gilbert (1988) and Wilma (2005). In both cases, federal, state and municipal authorities were well-prepared to deal with most of the effects on tourists and local residents. After Wilma, emergency plans were modified to rectify areas of weak performance. Among other improvements, a new hurricane-proof traffic light system was installed throughout the city and Hotel Zone. To avoid having tourists wind up in uncomfortable situations in public shelters, authorities asked tourism operators to suspend sending tourists to Cancun when Hurricane Dean approached, and encouraged airlines to send empty planes, which were then used to evacuate tourists.
On October 21, 2005, Hurricane Wilma made landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with strong winds in excess of 150 mph. The hurricane's eye first passed over the island of Cozumel, and then made an official landfall near Playa del Carmen in the state of Quintana Roo at around midnight on October 22 EDT with winds near 140 mph. Portions of the island of Cozumel experienced the calm eye of Wilma for several hours with some blue skies and sunshine visible at times. The eye slowly drifted northward, with the center passing just to the west of Cancún, Quintana Roo. Some portions of the Yucatán Peninsula experienced hurricane force winds for well over 24 hours. The hurricane began accelerating in the early morning hours of October 23, exiting the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula and entering the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 storm.
Wilma made several landfalls, with the most destructive effects felt in the Yucatán Peninsula, particularly in Cancún. At least three deaths have been reported, numerous people have disappeared, and the insured damage is estimated at between US$5 and US$8 billion. The devastation was almost total with many of the principal roadways from the Hotel Zone completely flooded and damaged. It has been estimated that 95% of the tourism infrastructure was seriously damaged. Once the storm left the peninsula, some of the beautiful beaches of Cancún had been washed away. Thousands of local and foreign tourists were hosted in improvised refuges. All airport and harbor operations were cancelled between October 21 to the 25 due to the worst weather conditions.
It is estimated that after Wilma left Cancún, the local tourism industry lost over US $15 million daily. Many houses were devastated, and many jobs were lost. However, thanks to the aid and support of local and state governments, the federal government, the Red Cross, and civic associations, reconstruction has been possible. There was an exhaustive campaign by the media that featured public figures, including Mexico's President Vicente Fox, actors and musicians to aid people who suffered.
When Hurricane Wilma finally passed, an almost 8-mile stretch of Cancun's beach was washed away, exposing a line of jagged rocks. Cancun's recovery from the storm, however, has been noteworthy, so much so that the United Nations World Tourism Organization has declared it a model to emulate in future disasters.
The Mexican government paid US$24-million to the Belgian firm Jan de Nul to vacuum up offshore sand roughly 20 miles off the coast of Cancún and pump it back to resort-front beaches. The result of the completed beach restoration is that Cancún's beach front is now roughly twice as wide as it was before the storm (going from roughly 70 feet wide to the present-day 140 feet). Beach erosion remains a serious problem despite the restoration. Some stretches have lost approximately 30 feet of sand. A few very problematical areas are now back to about 30 feet or less. The new sand is much coarser and somewhat darker than the powdery white original Cancun beaches.
Roughly $2.3-billion in insurance claims were filed in the aftermath of Wilma, but many hotel and resort owners took the opportunity to upgrade the quality of their rebuilt properties and add more condos to the mix of accommodations. As of early 2006, about 10 percent of Cancún's hotels were still having work done, with the last scheduled to be finished by the end of 2007.
Although Hurricane Dean touched land at Majahual, approximately 190 miles south of Cancun, fierce winds at the outside of its impact cone stripped sand off 7.5 miles of beach from Punta Cancun (Camino Real Hotel) to Punta Nizuc (Club Med), reports Virginia Prospero in Novedades de Quintana Roo. Photographs of the damage by local resident Anita Brown can be seen on Cancun Today.
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Giant Mexican flag in the Hotel Zone
'Cancún' (pronounced as ) is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula.
It is the municipal seat of Benito Juárez municipality and a world-renowned tourist resort with modern beachfront hotels surrounded by Isla Mujeres ("Women Island"), the Caribbean Sea, and the Nichupte and Bojórquez lagoons. The mainland downtown commercial section (Cancún City), connected to the island by two bridges, has broad avenues lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels.
The older section of the city, which follows the original master plan, consists of neighborhoods called supermanzanas (superblocks) that are formed by the intersections of the boulevards. They are characterized by winding streets with cul-de-sacs that tend to keep out the main flow of traffic, and usually have one or more parks and other green spaces.
To save on the cost of installing sewage systems and other public services, the design of much of the rest of the city reverted to the grid plan after Hurricane Gilbert (1988). The newest upper-middle-class residential areas reflect the original plan, but are much less initimate. Less expensive developments are comprised almost entirely of identical one- or two-story small row houses, sometimes built around interior plazas. Almost all buildings on the mainland are under four stories high.
| Contents |
| History |
| Tourism in Cancún |
| Nightlife |
| Weather |
| Ancient Mayan ruins |
| Colleges and universities |
| Hurricane Impact on Cancún |
| Hurricane Wilma |
| Recovery from Hurricane Wilma |
| Hurricane Dean |
| External links |
History
Development of Cancún started in 1970 and was established as a city in 1972. It grew rapidly in the 1980s. According to American journalist Jules Siegel, who has lived in Cancún since 1983, the original master plan was repeatedly modified and, on the mainland, often ignored. He reports that despite initial skepticism that forced the Mexican government to finance the first eight hotels, Cancún soon attracted investors from all over the world. Approximately 50% of the Hotel Zone properties are owned by Mexicans — many of them local residents — but the figure is close to 100% for the mainland, he says. Hotel operating companies are international companies that supply administration and marketing services and these companies do not usually own the hotels themselves, Siegel explains. Even outlets of restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Domino's Pizza are Mexican-owned, he says.
The city has grown rapidly over the past thirty years to become a city of approximately 600,000 residents, covering the former island and the nearby mainland. Most 'cancunenses' here are from Yucatán and other Mexican states. A growing number are from the rest of America and Europe, according to Siegel, who was the translator of Fernando Martí's "Cancun, Fantasy of Bankers." He says that municipal authorities have struggled to provide public services for the constant influx of people, as well as to control squatters and irregular developments, which now occupy an estimated ten to fifteen percent of the mainland area on the fringes of the city. Siegel goes into more detail about common misconceptions concerning Cancun in a three-part article Cancun Bashing Is in Season, a brief portion of which was published in The Nation on October 20, 2003 as a letter in response to what he considered an inaccurate report by journalist Marc Cooper.
The city Cancún and its flourishing tourism industry were heavily damaged by Hurricane Wilma, which hit the area on October 22, 2005. As of January 31, 2007, the resort is almost completely repaired and operating normally, although minor pockets of damage still remain.
Tourism in Cancún
The beach in Cancún
There are about 140 hotels in Cancún with 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants. Four million visitors arrive each year in an average of 190 flights daily. The Hotel Zone of Cancun is shaped like a backwards 7 with bridges on each end connecting to the mainland. Hotels on the vertical or long side of the 7 tend to have rougher beaches and beach erosion can be a problem. Resorts on the horizontal or short end of the seven tend to have more gentle surf because the waves here are blocked by the island of Isla Mujeres which lies just off shore. The Hotel Zone offers a broad range of accommodations, ranging from relatively inexpensive motel-style facilities in the older section closest to the mainland, to high-priced luxury hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton in the later sections.
Many of the hotels are time-share condominiums with kitchen facilities. Some all inclusive hotels where all meals, drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, hotel activities, entertainment, non-motorized water sports, tips and taxes are included in the price of the hotel rooms. There are also upscale private residences and lavish condominiums for rent that cater to the rich and famous. Restaurants, bars and shops in the hotel zone tend to be rather expensive compared with the downtown area and other Mexican resorts. Travelers will find many well-known theme restaurants and clubs here. Although the Hotel Zone is frequently described as "posh" or "exclusive" the main Cancún tourism market is middle- and upper-middle-class, according to government statistics, which also report that more than 37% of Cancún visitors are Mexican.
On the opposite side of the island from the Caribbean Sea is the Nichupte Lagoon, which is used for boating excursions and jet-ski jungle tours.
Downtown is home to less expensive places to shop, including supermarkets such as Walmart, Comercial Mexicana and Soriana, not to mention several flea markets like the one in the Hotel Zone.
Nightlife
The City night club, Mexican Independence Day 2006
Downtown Cancún offers a more cultural aspect, there are cuban/salsa type bars/restaurants. There are also many clubs for all types of people, but the hotels are more accessible to all types of travellers, including some with lower rates. International brands in Downtown area include Radisson Hacienda Cancún, Best Western Plaza Caribe, Oasis America.
Weather
The temperature of the city is warm, moderated by the marine breeze which circulates through its avenues. The temperatures are typically between 26°C and 36°C (78.8°F and 96.8°F) all year round. All hotel rooms in the Hotel Zone and most on the mainland are air conditioned. Weather is highly variable. During winter ''nortes'' (northerly storms) temperature drops sharply. In the course of a single day, the weather can turn from bright sunshine to dark and stormy and back again. It's not uncommon to look out one window and see sunshine, while rain is falling on the opposite side. Sun showers and rainbows are frequent throughout the year, but especially during the summer rainy season.
Ancient Mayan ruins
"El Rey" ruins in Cancún
There are some (relatively) small ruins of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Cancún. Ruinas del Rey is located in the Hotel Zone. El Meco, a more substantial site, is found on the mainland just outside the city limits on the road to Punta Sam.
Colleges and universities
Although Cancun is better known as a travel and tourism destination, in recent years some colleges and universities have been offering higher educations to both Mexican and foreign students.
The first higher education institution established in the area was the Instituto Tecnológico de Cancún. Some other followed such as Universidad La Salle Cancún, Universidad Anahuac Cancún, Universidad Tecnológica de Cancún, Universidad del Caribe, and more recently the Universidad Interamericana para el Desarrollo and the Tec Milenium.
Hurricane Impact on Cancún
Cancún is located in one of the main Caribbean hurricane impact areas, but since it was founded it has received direct hits from only two major hurricanes, Gilbert (1988) and Wilma (2005). In both cases, federal, state and municipal authorities were well-prepared to deal with most of the effects on tourists and local residents. After Wilma, emergency plans were modified to rectify areas of weak performance. Among other improvements, a new hurricane-proof traffic light system was installed throughout the city and Hotel Zone. To avoid having tourists wind up in uncomfortable situations in public shelters, authorities asked tourism operators to suspend sending tourists to Cancun when Hurricane Dean approached, and encouraged airlines to send empty planes, which were then used to evacuate tourists.
Hurricane Wilma
Visible image of Hurricane Wilma near record intensity with a central pressure of 882 millibars. Image captured by satellite at 1315Z (9:15 EDT) on October 19, 2005.
On October 21, 2005, Hurricane Wilma made landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with strong winds in excess of 150 mph. The hurricane's eye first passed over the island of Cozumel, and then made an official landfall near Playa del Carmen in the state of Quintana Roo at around midnight on October 22 EDT with winds near 140 mph. Portions of the island of Cozumel experienced the calm eye of Wilma for several hours with some blue skies and sunshine visible at times. The eye slowly drifted northward, with the center passing just to the west of Cancún, Quintana Roo. Some portions of the Yucatán Peninsula experienced hurricane force winds for well over 24 hours. The hurricane began accelerating in the early morning hours of October 23, exiting the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula and entering the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 storm.
Wilma made several landfalls, with the most destructive effects felt in the Yucatán Peninsula, particularly in Cancún. At least three deaths have been reported, numerous people have disappeared, and the insured damage is estimated at between US$5 and US$8 billion. The devastation was almost total with many of the principal roadways from the Hotel Zone completely flooded and damaged. It has been estimated that 95% of the tourism infrastructure was seriously damaged. Once the storm left the peninsula, some of the beautiful beaches of Cancún had been washed away. Thousands of local and foreign tourists were hosted in improvised refuges. All airport and harbor operations were cancelled between October 21 to the 25 due to the worst weather conditions.
It is estimated that after Wilma left Cancún, the local tourism industry lost over US $15 million daily. Many houses were devastated, and many jobs were lost. However, thanks to the aid and support of local and state governments, the federal government, the Red Cross, and civic associations, reconstruction has been possible. There was an exhaustive campaign by the media that featured public figures, including Mexico's President Vicente Fox, actors and musicians to aid people who suffered.
Recovery from Hurricane Wilma
View of the restored beach "Playa El Mirador" in Cancún, December 27 2006
When Hurricane Wilma finally passed, an almost 8-mile stretch of Cancun's beach was washed away, exposing a line of jagged rocks. Cancun's recovery from the storm, however, has been noteworthy, so much so that the United Nations World Tourism Organization has declared it a model to emulate in future disasters.
The Mexican government paid US$24-million to the Belgian firm Jan de Nul to vacuum up offshore sand roughly 20 miles off the coast of Cancún and pump it back to resort-front beaches. The result of the completed beach restoration is that Cancún's beach front is now roughly twice as wide as it was before the storm (going from roughly 70 feet wide to the present-day 140 feet). Beach erosion remains a serious problem despite the restoration. Some stretches have lost approximately 30 feet of sand. A few very problematical areas are now back to about 30 feet or less. The new sand is much coarser and somewhat darker than the powdery white original Cancun beaches.
Roughly $2.3-billion in insurance claims were filed in the aftermath of Wilma, but many hotel and resort owners took the opportunity to upgrade the quality of their rebuilt properties and add more condos to the mix of accommodations. As of early 2006, about 10 percent of Cancún's hotels were still having work done, with the last scheduled to be finished by the end of 2007.
Hurricane Dean
Although Hurricane Dean touched land at Majahual, approximately 190 miles south of Cancun, fierce winds at the outside of its impact cone stripped sand off 7.5 miles of beach from Punta Cancun (Camino Real Hotel) to Punta Nizuc (Club Med), reports Virginia Prospero in Novedades de Quintana Roo. Photographs of the damage by local resident Anita Brown can be seen on Cancun Today.
External links
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