Mexico's troubles fail to deter Canadian tourists

A massive explosion at a Mexican resort coupled with violencelinked to gang wars and drug cartels havecast the country in a negative light, but it isn't stopping Canadians from booking holidays there.

The number of travellers to Mexico from Canada is up about 10 per cent this year, industry experts say.

Five Canadians were among the seven people killed in an apparentmethane gas explosion at a resort in Playa del Carmen.

Two Mexican workers were also killed in the blast Sunday morning at the 676-room Grand Riviera Princess Hotel in the tourist region known as the Mayan Riviera.

Eight other Canadians were injured, including two who are listed in critical condition. Ten other people, including two U.S. citizens and eight employees of the hotel, suffered less serious injuries and were listed as stable.

The explosion at the luxury resort prompted phone calls to travel agents, but few are cancelling their plans, said Daryl McWilliams, a vice-president with Sunwing, one of Canada's largest vacation tour companies.

McWilliams said his office has received hundreds of calls from customers who have booked trips to the Playa del Carmen area. Most, he said were looking for information, but none were asking to cancel their trips.

"We did not have anyone who requested not to fly," he said.

McWilliams said only eight of more than 800 Sunwing clients at the hotel adjacent to the one affected by the blastasked to move. Still, Sunwing, along with other tour companies, has offered to rebook or rearrange trips for customers who had reservations at the hotel.

Gary Ralph, head of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies, said that because of the tragedy, most travel agents are working to accommodate those who want to cancel their trips.

He noted that customers who paid by credit card and haven't travelled yet can get a refund. But he doesn't expect this tragedy will have any long-term effect on travel to Mexico.

Althoughviolence in Mexico is on the rise due to the drug war, the number of Canadians who have booked trips is also up, according to Gary Ralph, head of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies.

"I think Canadians are pretty good travellers and they tend to look at the context, and where there are any negatives, stay away from those areas," Ralph said.

Daniel Dion, an Ottawa-area businessman who worked in the Cancun region, was slain last month. His death is still under investigation.

Travellers return after hotel blast

Meanwhile, some Canadians who were at the Mexican resort that was rocked by the explosion returned home Monday.

"To be honest, it was a very horrific sight. Whatever you can imagine, it was probably worse," Mark Bingeman, said in an interview at Toronto's Lester B. Pearson Airport.

Bingeman said there was a bang, and then he saw pieces of glass all over. Hotel guests gathered water and towels when they saw that people were hurt.

He brought over lounge chairsfor use as stretchers while they waited half an hour for the ambulances to come.

Josee O'Leary, whose room was 100 metres away from the explosion, said she did not realize the full extent of what happened until she returned to Canada.

"Can you touch me? I am alive," she told CBC News. "I was in my bed and I wake up I was thinking it was a bomb."

But O'Leary is upset that neither hotel staff nor Air Canada talked to her or other guests about what happened, noting family members in Canada were more informed than she was.