Fall Festivities in Mexico

Posted by & filed under Culture, Holidays, Fairs & Festivals, News.

The International Cervantino Festival – This cultural festival began in 1972 and was born from a tradition of the students of the University of Guanajuato in which the students would gather in the plazas of Guanajuato and perform the plays of Miguel de Cervantes.

Today, the Cervantino Festival is considered a “cultural buffet” where the entire city becomes a living theater and museum. Each year several countries are chosen from around the world to represent their cultures through music, theater, dance, visual arts, street performance and more.

The event attracts thousands of young art and culture lovers from around the world. This year’s festival begins October 13th and will run through November 7th. The schedule of events is truly massive and can be found here (in Spanish but there is an English translation button at the bottom).

Elton John in Leon – Coinciding with the beginning of the Cervantino Festival, Elton John will be playing at the Fox center in the city of Leon (about an hour outside of Guanajuato), making this concert an easy addition to a trip to the Cervantino Festival. All proceeds from the concert are being donated for the benefit of Mexican education.

To book a trip for either or both events, contact Journey Mexico today!

Tourism to Mexico on the Rise

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Travel + Leisure recently published their Atlas Industry Review, which presents some interesting and encouraging figures in regards to travel and travel to Mexico.

International tourism to Mexico surged 35% in June of 2010 and continued to rise another 28% in July, when 899,172 international tourists visited the country.

From Jan to July of 2010, more than six million tourists flew to Mexico, which is a 20% increase from the same period in 2009.

International tourism in general has been steadily climbing for nine straight months and the number are up 7% since Jan. of 2010. Although figures are expected to level out for the second half of the year, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide are estimated to reflect a 3-4% increase from Jan.-Dec.

Central America specifically saw a 9.1% increase in international tourism, dominating many areas of the world, save for the Asia-Pacific which saw double digit figures of growth.

Journey Mexico Makes 2010 Travel + Leisure A-List

Posted by & filed under Things We're Proud Of, Travel + Leisure.

Each year, Travel + Leisure evaluates thousands of the world’s best travel agents and tour operators and narrows them down to a list of what they consider to be the best of the best, the Travel + Leisure A-List. We are excited to announce that 2010 marks Journey Mexico’s debut appearance on the A-List as the only tour operator selected for Mexico.

 

 

Zach with Travel + Leisure VP/Publisher J.P. Kyrillos and Deputy Editor Laura Begley Bloom

You can view the 2010 Travel + Leisure A-List online, and the A-List will be

printed in the October addition of Travel + Leisure Magazine, which hits newsstands on September 24th. You can also view JM President Zachary Rabinor’s profile on Travel + Leisure’s website. If you know and/or have worked with Zach and would like to leave a comment on his profile, it’d be much appreciated 🙂

In being selected for the A-List, making the Inc. 5000 list, and being selected by Conde Nast as a Word’s Top Travel Specialist, 2010 has been an important year of continued growth and recognition for Journey Mexico. We would like to acknowledge Mexico’s people, culture, and natural beauty which have made our success possible, and we would like to thank the entire team of Journey Mexico and all of our partners on the ground and abroad working together to promote, sell, and deliver world-class, cultural, natural, and experiential travel in our beautiful country.

Happy Independence Day!

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Journey MexicoViva Mexico!!!! To celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day, Rebecca surprised the office with an array of delicious tamales, which we happily devoured. Included flavors were: rajas (green pepper), pollo (chicken in a spicy red sauce), and costilla (pork rib in spicy red sauce).

From everyone in the office, muchas gracias Rebecca!

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Journey Mexico in the Field

Posted by & filed under Copper Canyon, News.

Journey Mexico Travel Planner, Jennifer Amezcua, Director of Operations, Matteo Luthi, and President, Zachary Rabinor, are currently on the Discover Baja and the Copper Canyon Tour researching ways to bring even more local knowledge, insider access, and authentic travel experience to your next trip to Mexico. Below are some pictures Jenny sent over from the trip. For more information about traveling to Baja and the Copper Canyon, contact Journey Mexico today!

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Mexico: The World’s Largest Producer of Organic Coffee

Posted by & filed under Nature, News.

Did you know that 75% of the word’s organic coffee comes from Latin America and of that 75%, Mexico is the leading producer of coffee beans grown without any pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or other harmful chemicals? Instead of pesticides and harmful chemicals, the $400+ million dollars worth of coffee beans exported from Mexico each year is fertilized naturally by animal droppings and the insects that could damage the crop are regulated by local birds, bats, and lizards.

Mexican coffee beans are grown predominantly in three regions: Chiapas and Oaxaca in the southern part of the country and Coatepec on the Gulf Coast. The varying topography of Mexico results in a significant difference in the altitude at which these coffee beans are grown, which affects the flavor of the coffees from each region.

Many think of the light, nutty, and acidic flavors found in coffee produced in the mountainous region of Coatepec when they think of Mexican coffee; however, beans grown in the lush jungles of Chiapas yield a bright, sweet flavor with a hint of clove and apricot. Beans grown in the costal area of Oaxaca result in a much heavier bodied coffee, often flavored with chocolate and almonds.

Most of the coffee grown in Mexico comes not from large plantations but from small, local farms of less than 25 acres instead. For coffee enthusiasts and those interested in organic farming and trade, visiting these local farms and speaking with farmers first hand is always a memorable experience. For more information about visiting local coffee farms in Mexico, contact Journey Mexico today!

2010 UN Climate Conference in Cancun, Mexico

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As global concerns about climate change grow, the UN is pushing for world leaders to come to an agreement to work together on cutting carbon emissions across the board. The 2010 UN Climate Summit will be held in Cancun, Mexico and is hoped to produce positive traction in the fight to curb climate change.

Last year’s conference in Copenhagen left many disappointed as the event failed to produce a binding agreement for change. Participants have agreed to intensify discussions in Cancun and to do everything possible to agree on a plan for change and as to how it will be implemented. Recent flooding in Pakistan, drought and fires in Russia, and mudslides and floods in China have many optimistic that Cancun will produce a legally binding treaty of nations committed to taking immediate action.

Devising a system for industrialized nations to assist developing countries in reducing greenhouse gasses is going to be a key component of the conference in Cancun. We at Journey Mexico hope that Mexico, a country in the midst of renewing its own identity, will be the birthplace for a global movement to stop climate change.

New Virgin America Flights to Mexico

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As of yesterday, it’s official – Virgin America will begin flights to Mexico as soon as December 16th! Anyone who’s flown with Virgin before knows how exciting this news really is. Journey Mexico founder and President, Zachary Rabinor, recently flew Virgin and had nothing but glowing remarks about the experience.

Non-stop flights from San Fransisco (SFO) to San Jose del Cabo (SJD) will begin on Dec. 16th, 2010.

Non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Cancun (CUN) will begin on Jan. 19th, 2011.

Non-stop flights from San Fransisco (SFO) to Cancun (CUN) will begin on Jan. 20th, 2011.

Virgin America president and CEO, David Cush, remarked: “We’re pleased to bring our service to these world-class Mexican destinations and to offer travelers a better value and a unique flight experience. We think flyers deserve to start their Mexican getaways as soon as they board their flight.  And with low fares, touch-screen entertainment, beautiful cabins and a host of other features aimed at bringing the fun back to flying, we think travelers will agree that Virgin America is the perfect way to start their Mexican vacation a few hours early.”

Contact Journey Mexico to plan a trip to Mexico today!

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo on New 500 Peso Bill

Posted by & filed under Culture, News.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera on 500 PesoTwo of Mexico’s most treasured artists, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo have been joined the ranks of an Aztec lord, a military general, and cherished poet/nun, a hero of the Mexican war for Independence, and a revolutionary hero as the newest faces on Mexican currency. The portraits of these two artists are now featured on the new 500 Peso Bill.

Can you name the historical Mexican figures alluded to above and on which bill they appear? Post answers in the comments!

JM Director of Ops Returns from Scouting Trip

Posted by & filed under Culture, Journey Mexico TV, Media, News.

Video Below

Journey Mexico Director of Operations, Matteo Luthi, was recently on a two-week trip with his family in Southern Mexico scouting areas of Chiapas, Campeche, and Yucatan in order to develop some new family oriented trips to the region. He came back with some great stories, even better photos, and a lot of incredible insights that we are eager to share with our clients. Here’s what Matteo had to say about his trip:

“Normally I do these kind of trips on my own, but this time I decided to bring my family along since the idea was to see how family friendly these areas are. I was really impressed by the amount of family activities we go to enjoy. We had a blast! It’s very difficult to recount the highlights since every single day was amazing but if I had to chose some days in particular, I would say swimming in the electric blue Lakes of Montebello, our visit to the Church in San Juan Cholula with the shamans, and visiting all of the archeological sites were the stand out experiences. Especially Calakmul where we climbed to the top of the largest Mayan pyramid built in Mexico. It was such a rare opportunity to have an that incredible view over the immense forest that is recognized by the UNESCO as the second largest biosphere of the World just behind the Amazonas. Again, the entire trip was fantastic and having my family there and seeing how much they enjoyed it was just unforgettable.”

Below is a video of some of the trip’s highlights narrated by Matteo (It was raining really hard when we recorded the voice over – sorry!). For more information about traveling to any of the places in the video, contact Journey Mexico today!

Mexico Tourism Continues to Push Forward

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The Mexican Tourism Board continues to push forward with their efforts to increase tourism to Mexico by adding both a new Executive to their staff and a new international tourism fair in Mexico City.

After resigning from his position as General Director of the Riviera Maya Destination Marketing Office, Javier Aranda has accepted the position of Executive Director of Destinations and Partners at the Mexican Tourism Board. Journey Mexico is excited to see what Aranda will add to the great campaign that Gloria Guevara, the new Minister of Tourism, has started.

At the recommendation of the World Travel Organization, the Mexico Tourism Board has organized an international travel fair, called the International Tourism Fair of the Americas (FITA), which is scheduled for Sept. 23-26 at Mexico City’s Expo Bancomer convention center.

With FITA, Mexico City hopes to exceed the scope of Acapulco’s Tianguis fair, which has been Mexico’s premier travel fair for 37 years. FITA is planned to be an annual event and is expecting 40,000 attendees this year, but the fair seems to be getting a hesitant reaction from the US market as companies are finding it difficult to budget for another Mexican fair in this troubled economy.

How does your company feel about the new travel fair? Will you be attending? Let us know in the comments!

Journey Mexico a Member of Departures Magazine Luxury Advisory Board

Posted by & filed under Things We're Proud Of.

Departures-MagazineJourney Mexico president, Zachary Rabinor, is a member of Departures Magazine’s Luxury Advisory Board. The Luxury Advisory Board provides Departures with key insights and information on style, real estate, culture, dining, travel and much more.

For more information about luxury travel advising and luxury travel planning in Mexico, you can contact Zach at [email protected]

Aerial Photography of Mexico City

Posted by & filed under Media.

I came across some amazing aerial photographs of Mexico City and it’s surrounding areas the other day. The photographer’s website isn’t very informative but from what I gather, the photographer is a helicopter pilot whose hobby is photographing interesting scenes from above. If you click on the little speech bubble icon on the lower left hand side of the slideshow, you can turn the captions on, or you can view captions explaining each photo at Journey Mexico’s Picasa Page.

All photos via http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PhotoAlbum31.html

Journey Mexico Number 13 on Inc 5000 List

Posted by & filed under Things We're Proud Of.

Inc 5000 Journey MexicoFor the second year in a row, Journey Mexico made Inc. Magazine‘s Inc 5000 list. In Spite of the Swine Flu scare, a struggling economy, and the unrelenting media coverage of violence in Mexico, Journey Mexico has achieved a three-year growth rate of 77% and is ranked number 13 in the Travel Industry on the 2010 Inc 5000 list.

The 2010 Inc. 500 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2006 to 2009. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by June 30, 2006. Additionally, they had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2009. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2006 is $80,000; the minimum for 2009 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. The companies of the Inc. 500 represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at www.inc.com/500.

JM Bids Farewell to our Summer Intern Monica

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Journey Mexico was fortunate to have a great intern, Monica Marchak, working in our Puerto Vallarta office this summer. Monica currently attends Western Washington University and has been living with her aunt and uncle here in Vallarta for the summer. In addition to interning at Journey Mexico, Monica has also been studying Spanish at her aunt’s school, The Spanish Experience Center.

Monica quickly adapted to her new environment, and some of her work can be seen in many of our new trip pages as well as our new villa and hotel profile pages.

Although her internship is finished, Monica’s summer is far from over. From Mexico, Monica will be traveling to New York and then to Bordeaux, France. From all of us at the Journey Mexico, happy travels and thanks for a great summer Monica!

Journey Mexico Villa and Hotel Visits

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Journey Mexico at Garza Blanca Preserve Resort and Spa

Journey Mexico at Garza Blanca

Journey Mexico has been busy expanding our website it include partner villa, hotel, and yacht profiles (It’s still a work-in-progress, but you can view several locations that have already been entered by clicking on the View Villa Profiles button on our Experiences > Villas page.)

Over the past two weeks, several members of the Journey Mexican team have been visiting newly added partner locations here in Puerto Vallarta. Last Friday, we took a full tour of the gorgeous Garza Blanca Preserve, Resort, and Spa and had a wonderful lunch in the hotel’s restaurant Blanca Blue. Resort general manager, Miguel Andres Hernandez, was kind enough to dine with us as well as give us a tour of Garza Blanca’s award winning wine selection.

Yesterday, Vanessa Cole and Shannon Beston of Journey Mexico partner Vacation Villas of Mexico led us on a tour of several beautiful villas in downtown Vallarta. We have to give special thanks to Raquel Brooks of Casa Tabachin and Yvonne Kalman of Casa Yvonneka for welcoming us into their lovely properties and for the delicious hors d’oeuvres, lunch, and conversation. Check back shortly to view profile pages with photos and videos of both Casa Tabachin and Casa Yvonneka!

Mexico’s New Minister of Tourism – The New Woman in Charge

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Zachary Rabinor and Gloria Guevara

JM President, Zachary Rabinor, with Minister of Tourism, Gloria Guevara

Mexico’s new Minister of Tourism, Gloria Guevara, was not looking for a public office, it came looking for her!  A high powered executive for arguably one of the most influential companies in the travel industry, Sabre Travel Solutions, Ms. Guevara was hard at work connecting buyers and sellers of travel when she got the call from the President of Mexico and was wooed away from the private sector to a patriotic role for the future of her country.  Since her first day in office, Guevara has shown that she is a mover and that her plans for Mexico’s tourism industry will re-shape the way that Mexico is viewed as a destination in the world.

Since taking office, Guevara has secured a $35 million budget for a media campaign to shed new light on Mexico as a prime destination for cultural tourism. The theme of the campaign is “Mexico: The Place You Thought You Knew,” and the ads (view below) are intended to reach 50% of North Americans. She and her team have also outlined ten culturally significant routes of travel called the “Rutas de Mexico,” which feature many of Mexico’s 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Guevara holds a master’s degrees in Marketing from the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City and Business Administration from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Her career in the travel industry began in customer service and sales at Sabre where she steadily worked her way to the top of the company as she eventually held the position of chief information officer for parent company Sabre Holdings.

We at Journey Mexico are thrilled to have a like-minded, business savvy advocate in this important role and can’t wait to see what other new and creative ideas the Mexico Tourism Board launches under her watch.