Tianguis on the Move

Posted by & filed under News, Tourism Tianguis.

Tanguis Turistico on the MoveGloria Guevara, Mexico’s Minister of Tourism, has announced that for the first time since its inception, the annual Tianguis Turistico will not be held in Acapulco next year. Tianguis is, hands down, the most important travel trade show in Mexico, providing a unique business arena where domestic and international purchasers are able to meet with over 500 Mexican tourism service providers.

For 36 years, Tianguis has been held in the beautiful Port of Acapulco but beginning in 2012, the event will become a traveling show to be held in a different city in Mexico each year. The change brings about mixed emotions as when one thinks of Tianguis, one naturally thinks of Acapulco; however, many see the relevancy for the event to be mobile, offering participants to experience different regions and cultures of Mexico each year.

When asked about the decision to hold Tianguis in different locations around Mexico, Zachary Rabinor, founder and president of Journey Mexico, said, “I’ve attended Tianguis Turistico since 2003, so I’ve been attending for 8 years now.  I believe that it will be a great benefit to Mexico as it will allow Mexico to showcase its diverse destinations to both Mexican and International attendees!”

Have you been to Tianguis Turistico before? What do you think about the decision to take the event on the road? Let us know in the comments below!

 

 

Zachary Rabinor Awarded as Condé Nast Villa Specialist for 2011

Posted by & filed under Condé Nast, News, Things We're Proud Of.

Conde Nast Villa Specialist AwardJourney Mexico is proud to announce that founder and president Zachary Rabinor has recently been awarded as one of the World’s Top 44 Villa Specialists, representing Mexico for 2011 by Condé Nast Traveler. The list was created by top travel authority Wendy Perrin and team, who take great care and pride in their travel recommendations.

According to Condé Nast Traveler, “Six years of putting villa rental agents through their paces—renting from them, accompanying them on villa inspections, interviewing them, hearing feedback from readers—have produced this list of the experts best qualified to match you with the right property. The agents on these pages have visited every home they represent (all handpicked for their authentic sense of place), have slept in many of them, and reinspect them at least annually.”

This Villa Specialist Award comes in addition to Zach’s recent achievement of being chosen as one of the World’s Top 135 Travel Specialist by Condé Nast Traveler. You can view Zach’s profile on Wendy Perrin’s Truth.Travel site, which was created to bring trusted travel insight to the discerning traveler.

Be sure to pick up the hard copy of this month’s issue of Condé Nast Traveler containing the Top 44 Villa Specialist list (on page 103) at your local newsstand today!

Tianguis Turistico

Posted by & filed under News, Tourism Tianguis.

Tianuis 2011

Tianguis_2011

Journey Mexico’s Zachary Rabinor, Matteo Luthi, and Rene Rivera recently returned from the 36th annual Tianguis Touristico event in Acapulco, Mexico. Reports are that the event was a huge success as representatives from 22 global markets were represented including China, Chile, Czech Republic, and Poland.

Travel Weekly posted a nice review of the event. Below are some standout quotes:

  • Mexico is targeting 26 million visitors this year, up from the 22.4 million in 2010, according to Secretary of Tourism Gloria Guevara.

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  • Visitor figures for January point to a 1.7% increase over January 2010 and solid advance bookings heading into the Easter period and beyond, according to Guevara.

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  • Mazatlan tourism officials urged travel agents, tour operators, airlines and wholesale partners to “have confidence in us” in the face of a cruise line pullout earlier this year.

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  • Officials are working with the government to develop a strategic master plan for tourism growth and said talks with cruise lines are ongoing in an effort to gain the return of the lines for the next cruise season.

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  • Carlos Berdegue, vice president of the Mazatlan Hotel Association, pointed to the launch of American’s daily service from Dallas on June 9, the planned development of a new resort area called Teacapan 60 miles south of the Pacific coast city and a new TV campaign featuring testimonials from U.S. visitors to reinforce the message that “there is an appetite for Mazatlan. We need tourism to revitalize our economy.”

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  • Guevara outlined details of the recently launched “I Am A Tourist” program designed to increase domestic tourism, and cited the increase in seat capacity and frequency by U.S. carriers serving Mexico. She said that Air France’s launch of nonstop service three times a week between Paris and Cancun Oct. 21 “reinforces the strength of Mexico for the European market. Airlines follow demand.

 

A Weekend in Guadalajara

Posted by & filed under Media, On the Road.

Chase Buckner is the webmaster for Journey Mexico

Zona Rosa on a Sunday

I had the pleasure of taking a weekend visit to Guadalajara last weekend and I must say that every time I visit, the city steals a little piece of my heart. Being from Philadelphia, I appreciate Guadalajara’s “big but not the biggest” feel – it’s central area is easy to navigate but big enough to contain obviously distinct areas, each with their own vibe and charm.

My travel mates and I stayed in the Zona Rosa, which is an absolutely beautiful part of the city located around one of its most lovely avenues Chapultepec, which is lined with little restaurants, colorful trees, and squares with fountains and statues. The nightlife in this area is buzzing with bars and food stands on every block. On Sundays, several streets get shut down so that thousands of bikers, joggers, rollerbladers, skateboarders, and dogs can cruise the town. I’ll definitely be taking my bike with me the next time I visit.

Overlooking Mezcala Island on Lake Chapala

One of the nicest attributes of Guadalajara is its proximity to other areas of interest such as Lake Chapala and the town of Tequila. A friend of ours lives on the lake, so we drove down to Chapala on Saturday for a visit (which was about an hour drive). Reigning as the largest freshwater lake in Mexico, Chapala is breathtaking in size and color. Apparently in recent years, the lake had been drying up due to the fact that Guadalajara was using it to supply the city with water. Realizing what was happening, however, changes were made and the lake is again thriving.

It was interesting to learn that a little island on the lake, Mezcala, is famed for a series of battles in which Mexican natives held off several surges of Spanish troops. Although the natives eventually agreed to surrender the island in exchange for the right to keep their lands and cattle, Mezcala is known to be the only piece of Mexico never concurred by the Spanish. On the island is a pristine fort that remains much as it did during the time of battle, which visitors can tour.

The Exit of the Jose Cuervo Factory in Tequila

Leaving the lake, we enjoyed a night out in Zona Rosa then decided to stop in the town of Tequila on our way back to Puerto Vallarta. I’d not yet been to Tequila but have always been fascinated by the fact that like the use of the term champagne, you cannot put the term Tequila on a bottle unless its contents were distilled in the region and under approved conditions. There are four main distilleries in town (and about 50 smaller “local” distilleries), but we only had time to visit one so we went with Jose Cuervo.

JM Super Guide Tomas and I at Jose Cuervo

When we began the tour I was surprised to realize that we had joined a group being led by Journey Mexico guide Tomas Ebert! We had a blast catching up and Tomas added some great insight during the tour. The Cuervo factory is remarkable. Its colonial architecture makes it grand in nature and the details that catch your eye as you walk the distillery are amazing. The site is cleaner than you can imagine and the colorful walls shine through the ivy that covers much of the buildings. The tour was really educational, included several tastings, and ended with the tastiest margaritas I’ve ever had. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Tequila.

If you’re interested in visiting Mexico’s Colonial Heartland, I strongly encourage you to have Journey Mexico build you a little weekend getaway to Guadalajara with day trips to Lake Chapala and Tequila. Trying to do all of this by bus in one weekend would have been a logistical nightmare, so I’d definitely suggest touring the region with a private driver/guide.

The Lonely Planet Likes Mexican Food (Who Doesn’t?)

Posted by & filed under Culture, News.

foods of mexico

The Lonely Planet sent out an email today with a link to their article called The Best Countries for Food, in which they list Mexico as the number 6 country to visit for food. Here’s what they had to say:

Would you like some magic-realism with that enchilada? The Mexican sensibility for enchanting influences is also brought to the table in its food, particularly during celebrations. Mexican cuisine has an overriding Spanish influence, with a twist of French and African thanks to its history. Corn and bean-based dishes are prominent – prepared in a multitude of world renowned ways including tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas. And who could forget the worm that waits at the bottom of a bottle of Mezcal?”

Mexican cuisine has been on fire lately, no pun intended. Towards the end of 2010, UNESCO awarded Mexican cuisine World Heritage Status along with French cuisine, which was the first time the culinary traditions of a country had been awarded. Journey Mexico is currently offering several culinary trips highlighting the savory recipes of different regions in Mexico, including private cooking lessons where travelers can work hand-in-hand with local master chefs. Contact Journey Mexico for more info.

NY Times Names Puerto Vallarta an Easy Weekend Getaway

Posted by & filed under News, Puerto Vallarta & Punta Mita.

Pool Sunrise at the Westin in Puerto Vallarta

The New York Times recently published an article on their website called “14 Easy Weekend Getaways” in which they outline “14 top-notch escapes that require fewer than four hours in either a car or a plane from more than a dozen major cities.” Below is an except from the article where they reference Puerto Vallarta, located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

From the New York Times:

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

EASY GETAWAY FROM Los Angeles; San Diego; Phoenix; Denver; Houston.

WHAT YOU GET Miles of golden sand, sunsets on the Malecón, open-air dance clubs, whale watching.

WHY NOW Drug-related violence, concentrated mainly in the northern border region of Mexico, has cast a pall over the entire country and scared tourists away from popular Pacific coast resorts like Puerto Vallarta, which have remained safe for visitors. As a result, deals abound. “We have special offers available even in our most luxurious accommodations,” said Antonia Lavendar, director of commercialization for the Puerto Vallarta Convention and Visitors Bureau. If lounging poolside at an upscale hotel on the cheap, margarita in hand, isn’t enough, there are galleries and boutiques along the Malecón promenade, cobblestone streets to explore in the colonial Old Town zone, zip-line canopy tours in the nearby Sierra Madre Mountains, and whale-watching trips just offshore.

WHERE TO STAY The 14-acre Westin Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa is offering rates as low as $129 a night — a 20 percent discount. The Presidente InterContinental Resort dropped starting rates for its newly decorated oceanfront suites to $148 a night in March from $198 last year; in April, rates begin at $180. Villa del Palmar (villagroupresorts.com) offers 562 suites with balconies or terraces for as low as $85 a night with all-inclusive rates that begin at $211 per person per night for meals and many water sports.

Mexico Tourism Board Chicago on Safety in Mexico

Posted by & filed under Health and Safety.

In this video on the safety of Mexico, Rodrigo Esponda, the US Midwest Director of Mexico Tourism, does a great job of illustrating the fact that Mexico is a HUGE country and that the most popular tourist destinations are hundreds if not thousands of miles from the border towns where most of the drug related violence is taking place. You can find more information about the current status of affairs in Mexico at the Safety of Mexico section of our blog.

Photos from a Recent Whale-Watching Trip in Baja California

Posted by & filed under Los Cabos & Baja Californias, Media, Whale Watching.

Each winter, the Gray Whales of the Pacific migrate from the cold waters of Alaska to the tropical waters of Mexico to breed from December through April. As we near the end of March, we prepare to say goodbye to the Gray Whales, thank them for the up close and personal encounters they shared with us, and wish them safe travels on their long journey back to Alaska.

This year’s whale watching season was, like always, magnificent. Below are some photos from one of our recent whale-watching trips in Baja California.

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Ask JM: Traveling to Mexico City with an Infant

Posted by & filed under Journey Mexico TV, Media.

Traveling with children can be difficult. In this episode of Ask Journey Mexico, we field a question from Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forum about family friendly things to do during an eight day trip to Mexico City with a nine-month old.

If you have questions about travel in Mexico, send them to [email protected]

Campeche to be the New Star of the Yucatan

Posted by & filed under Campeche, Colonial Cities, Culture, News, Yucatan.

campeche city street

Colonial Architecture in Campeche City

Continuing in his efforts to make 2011 the Year of Mexican Tourism and to push Mexico further up the list of the word’s top international tourism destinations, Mexican president Felipe Caldéron has signed a National Tourism Agreement, committing to provide upgrades to infrastructure, highways, and commercial needs in order to attract further investment as well as more tourism to the state of Campeche in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Travel Weekly reports that improvements are already underway including a widening of the sidewalks in the capital city of Campeche’s historical center to create a pedestrian-friendly areas, the installation of multilingual signs at many of the city’s public monuments, the commissioning of bronze statues of a local fisherman and a shoeshine man, as well as the opening of several exhibits in churches and parks.

Calakmul in Campeche

Calakmul in Campeche

The city of Campeche already boasts many restored buildings and colonial structures, which helped earn the city UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1999. Campeche city adds a wonderful touch of colonial Spanish culture to any archeological Mayan tour of the Yucatan Peninsula. Outside of the city, fabulous archeological sites like Edzná, Becán, Balamkú, Xpuhil, and Calakmul (the largest of all the Mayan cities) have remained lesser known than other sites of the Yucatan Peninsula like Chichén Itzá even though the sites of Campeche are much older. Hopefully with the improvements made from this grant, more travelers will be interested in exploring the wonders of Campeche.

Mexico Encourages Spring Break Travel

Posted by & filed under News.

This article has been re-posted from Travel Weekly. You can find the original article at: Mexico tourism exec: “Texas travel warning too broad.”

Mexico Encourages Spring Break TravelThe Mexico Tourist Board said that a warning from the Texas Department of Public Safety for spring-breakers to avoid Mexico because of the dangers of drug-related violence paints an inaccurate picture of the country.

In the written warning issued on March 1 by the Texas agency, Director Steven McCraw stated: “Our safety message is simple: Avoid traveling to Mexico during spring break, and stay alive.”

The statement did not draw distinctions between tourist zones and the border regions recently hit by violence. “While drug cartel violence is most severe in northern Mexico, it is prominent in other parts of the country as well,” McCraw said.

The agency also urged students to stay on the U.S. side of Falcon Lake, a boating spot on the Rio Grande River where an American was shot and killed last September.

Mexico Editor Gay Nagle Myers spoke with Alfonso Sumano, director of the Americas for the Mexico Tourism Board, regarding the impact of the warning on spring break travel and beyond.

Alfonso Sumano Travel Weekly: What is Mexico’s reaction to this warning?

Sumano: While we are respectful of government and state advisories and recommendations regarding travel to Mexico, it is inaccurate to paint the whole of Mexico with the same brush. Certainly visitors should avoid the border towns, which are 2,500 miles in some cases from the resort areas.

Still in effect is a travel warning issued by the U.S. State Department last September, which does point out that resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and along major drug traficking routes.
We’re a big country, we have safety initiatives in place for our visitors, and we have a large number of repeat guests, especially from Texas.

Travel Weekly: How important is the Texas market? How large is your spring break market?

Sumano: Texas is huge in size and market strength. More than 2.5 million visitors from Texas came to Mexico by air last year, topping our record year of 2008.  In January, we had a 12% increase in arrivals from Texas.
Spring breakers are not as large a component as our winter season visitors, but for a few weeks each spring, the beach resorts are packed with students.

Travel Weekly: What are you telling your tour operators and travel agents with regard to the Texas warning?

Sumano: Communication with our partners always has been a key tool for us. It’s the same in this case. The Mexican resort areas and cruise ports already have bilingual tourist police, security officials and initiatives in place to protect our visitors and ensure their safety. The government goes to considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and all visitors.

Travel Weekly: Any new marketing campaigns planned?

Sumano: We just launched a new TV and outdoor campaign that promotes Mexico travel this year. We’ve added new training programs for our Mexico agent specialists. We’re off to a good start this year, and we aim to continue. It takes work to dissolve misperceptions and add perspective.

Travel Weekly: Mexico’s biggest tourism advocate appears to President Felipe Calderon.

Sumano: Absolutely. He is committed to, and focused on, tourism. It’s a top priority. This is the year of tourism for Mexico. Calderon held a meeting of all tourism stakeholders in Mexico last week to align efforts on a countrywide basis in promoting tourism. It’s the frst time such a meeting has been held at this level. His goal is to make Mexico the world’s fifth largest tourist destination by 2018, and it will happen.

*Journey Mexico Update*

According the Mexico Tourism Board, travel to Mexican tourist destinations from Texas is up 12 percent from the year before. The board reports that over 253,000 travelers visited Mexico from Texas in December and 210,000 in January compared to 224,000 and 196,000 in the previous year, respectively.

Highlights From Obama-Calderón Press Conference

Posted by & filed under Culture, News.

Obama Calderon Press ConferenceOn March 3rd, US President Barack Obama and Mexico President Felipe Calderón held a joint press conference from the White House. You can find a transcript from the entire conference here, but below are stand out quotes from both heads of state.

President Barack Obama:

  • “The relationship between the United States and Mexico isn’t measured just in the partnership between two Presidents. It’s evident every day in the strong bonds between our two societies.”

  • “I look forward to visiting Mexico when President Calderón hosts the G20 next year… I especially want to commend President Calderón for Mexico’s successful leadership of the Cancun Conference, including progress toward a Green Fund that he himself helped to get started and champion and which will help developing countries adapt to climate change.”

  • “Our governments have spoken out forcefully for the human rights of the Libyan people, and Mexico played a leading role at the United Nations in suspending Libya from the Human Rights Council.”

  • “Mexico is standing tall” and ready to take its “rightful place in the world.”

  • “We’re also deepening our cooperation against the drug cartels that threaten both our peoples… President Calderón and the Mexican people have shown extraordinary courage in the fight for their country… Mexico has a full partner with the United States. Because whether they live in Texas or Tijuana, our people have a right to be safe in their communities.”

  • “I reiterated that the United States accepts our shared responsibility for the drug violence.”

  • “I remain deeply committed to fixing our broken immigration system with comprehensive reform that continues to secure our borders, enforces our laws — including against businesses that break the law — and requiring accountability from undocumented workers.”

President Felipe Calderón:

  • “Mexico and the United States are authentic, strategic partners, as can be seen by our joint work on the global and regional agendas.”

  • “I would like to congratulate President Obama for the visit that he will be making to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador in a few weeks’ time. Greater dialogue among the United States and Latin American nations will always be beneficial to the hemisphere, and beneficial not just for Latin American countries but also for the United States.”

  • “In terms of the border, both President Obama and I agree that we must turn this area into the land of opportunities and not of conflict.”

  • “The United States and Mexico can and must make the most of the comparative advantages that make us unique as a region and that would enable us to convert, to turn North America in its entirety into the most competitive region of the world. I am convinced that together we can achieve this.”

  • “Both governments have taken on our positions as co-responsible parties in the fight against transnational organized crime. This is a paradigm change in our relationship. And today we have reached increased levels of exchange of information that are unheard of in the past. I would like to thank President Obama for the clarity with which he speaks of the effects that the consumption of drugs has on his country, as well as the illegal traffic of weapons and of monies into Mexican territory. I know that together we can achieve ever greater results.”

  • “In the fight for the security of Mexico, thousands of military officers and members of the police force have died in Mexico. They fall in the line of duty. And to these deaths we add the death of Agent Jaime Zapata from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency of the United States. And I would like to add my deepest condolences to his relatives, to the people and government of United States in view of his death.”

For the full transcript of this joint press release, visit the White House’s website.