The Mexico Tourism Board, the Cancun Convention and
Visitors Bureau and the Cancun Hotel Association willing to help Canadian
consumers of Conquest
Montreal, April
22nd, 2009
The Cancun Visitors and Convention
Bureau and Puerto Morelos are committed to reach out to those Canadians that
had booked their vacations with Canadian tour operator Conquest. Since the
cession of operations of Conquest Vacations several visitors have been
affected while visiting Mexico.
Cancun and Puerto Morelos are working
closely with the Cancun Hotel Associations in order to alleviate the
situation some Canadian visitors are facing. This exceptional situation had
also an enormous economic impact in local properties; however, they all value
their customers and are working hard to find the best possible solution.
·The current contract with
Conquest Vacations states that in case the tour operator does not pay the
hotels directly, then is the customer that has to be
invoiced for their stay. Is important to mention that those affected
travelers will have the opportunity to seek their reimbursement through a
Compensation Fund as stated by the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO)
on their website (http://tico.ca/)
·On April 21st: For those
consumers being asked to pay for hotel accommodations and transfers to
airport, consider the following announcement from TICO: “TICO is aware
that some consumers are being asked for payment for accommodations in
destination and transfer service (transportation) to the airport. TICO is
currently attempting to resolve outstanding payments with hotels. Please be
advised that some hotels/resorts that TICO has contacted are insisting on
charging the consumers for their accommodations in destination in advance or
upon check-out and are refusing to accept TICO's payment to protect the
consumers. Should consumers be charged for their accommodations and/or
transfers in destination, they may request a claim form from TICO against the
Compensation Fund. Consumers should ensure they receive a receipt from the
hotel and/or transfer company in exchange for payment to support their
claim”.
“Consumers who purchased
their travel services from an Ontario registered travel retailer (travel agency)
and paid by credit card and the payment was processed by Conquest Vacations
(Conquest Vacations appears on their credit card statement) may contact their
credit card company and request a chargeback. Should a consumer be
unsuccessful in obtaining a chargeback from their credit card company, they
may request a claim form from TICO against the Compensation Fund.
Consumers who paid by credit
card to a registered Ontario travel agency and the travel agency processed
the payment (Name of travel agency appears on the credit card statement)
should contact their travel agent or request a claim form from TICO against
the Compensation Fund.
Those consumers who paid by cash
or cheque to an Ontario travel retailer, may request a
claim form from TICO against the Compensation Fund. Please note that there is
a legislated 6 month claim filing deadline”.
In solidarity with the current
situation, affecting affected customers; the subsequent measures had been
taken by numerous properties in Cancun and Puerto Morelos:
·On April 17th, the
Cancun Hotels Association requested its members a special rate for those
visitors who booked their trips through Conquest Vacations. In some cases, a
reduced rate of 40% off has been offered.
·With regards to Oasis Cancun
Hotels, there has been an agreement signed with TICO. TICO has paid the hotel
directly, for the stay of clients who booked through Conquest Vacations.
·Furthermore, some properties had
offered complimentary accommodations for those affected customers in a second
visit to the destination. These visitors are invited to come back to the
property for the same amount of nights and for the same amount of guests they
originally booked with Conquest Vacations at the time of its cessation of
operations, at no cost. Is especially important to those hotels to give their
customers a positive experience.
·In some cases, these clients had
cancelled their vacations or have booked through a different agency and tour
operator.
As stated by Alfonso Sumano,
regional director, the Mexico Tourism Board, the Cancun Visitors and
Conventions Bureau and the Cancun Hotels Associations are working together in
solidarity with those Canadian visitors affected by these circumstances.
Canadian visitors are extremely important to Mexico and we are working to compensate
this bad experience due the cession of operations of Conquest Vacations.
The
Cancun Hotel Association phone number is open to provide support at +52 (998)
881 87 30 to 39 or by email at info@ahqr.com.mx.
The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) brings together the resources of
federal and state governments, municipalities and private companies to
promote Mexico's tourism attractions and destinations nationally and internationally.
Created in 1999, the MTB is Mexico’s tourism promotion agency, and its participants include
members of both the private and public sectors. The MTB has offices
throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
FOR JOURNALISTS ONLY
For additional ideas, help with a story or general travel and
tourism information about Mexico, please contact the MTB’s Canadian Press Room directly at
1-866-895-5297, by e-mail at canadianpress@visitmexico.com, or visit our
Press Web site at www.visitmexicopress.com. To access an online warehouse of free, downloadable b-roll,
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