On Location

Acapulco, Mexico’s grande dame Pacific coast resort city, played host to the country’s 32nd annual Tianguis Turistico trade show and marketplace, drawing approximately 1,100 international buyers and 500 exhibitors to the four-day event in March.

At the show, Francisco Lopez Mena, the newly appointed CEO of the Mexico Tourism Board (MTB), announced the opening this month of a Washington, D.C., office for a new “United Business Strategy” program aimed at U.S and Canadian markets.

MTB veteran Eduardo Chaillo, former head of the Mexico Convention Bureau and most recently director of MTB’s North American promotional efforts from its Chicago office, will run the D.C. office.

“While our zero percent value-added tax [initiative] for international meetings and conventions held in Mexico created industry growth, currently only 12.5 percent of U.S-organized events are held here,” Chaillo said. “We’re staking a claim for a larger piece of the U.S. business travel market, estimated by the Convention Industry Council to be worth $122 billion. It’s a tremendous opportunity.”

Several new developments were announced during Tianguis.

The 1.6 million-square-foot Acapulco Convention Center, which is more than 30 years old, is undergoing a $2 million renovation that includes technology upgrades and enhancements to its terraces and main entrance.

Acapulco’s Expo Imperial, a 360,000-square-foot convention and exhibition center, and the adjacent Foro Imperial, a 4,800-seat theater and sports venue, are under construction as part of the $2.2 billion Mundo Imperial project, slated to open in spring 2008. The development will also include the 879-room Casa Imperial resort, a spa utilizing Chinese medicinal techniques in its treatments, and Fiesta Imperial, a 210,000-square-foot plaza with restaurants, nightclubs and cultural offerings.

Arturo Escaip Manzur, the new general director of the Cancun CVB, announced that after a massive renewal project, Cancun has bounced back from October 2005’s devastating Hurricane Wilma, with more than 3.6 million arrivals since January 2006. The Cancun Hotel Association also reported 90 percent occupancy rates for January of this year. Dozens of properties completed extensive renovations and upgrades before reopening after the storm.

The government of the state of Nayarit announced the launch of the newly designated Riviera Nayarit, a 100-mile coastal stretch north of Puerto Vallarta. Comprising several upscale hotel zones, including Nuevo Vallarta and Punta Mita, where a St. Regis property will debut later this year, development of the master-planned region is in the works, with the first of seven luxury properties under construction as part of the Litibu zone. Riviera Nayarit currently has 12,840 hotel rooms.

ME, Sol Melia’s newest brand of “personality hotel,” premiered at the former Melia Turquesa Cancun and the former Melia San Lucas. ME Cancun and ME Cabo received stylish upgrades and brand-new amenities before opening under the new brand, designed to provide a hip, customized experience.

AMR’s Dreams Cancun Resort and Spa partnered with Via Delphi to open Delphinus Dreams Cancun—a “dolphinarium” providing up-close experiences with the friendly creatures.

Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort and Spa, currently undergoing a renovation, will unveil a state-of-the-art convention facility in December.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) celebrated the opening of its 100th hotel in Mexico, Holiday Inn Cancun Arenas. Six more IHG hotels will be unveiled this year, and by 2010, 37 additional properties will add 4,019 guest rooms to its Mexico inventory.

The Baja California Peninsula’s Inn at Loreto Bay, recently purchased by the developers of the new Villages of Loreto Bay resort community, plans to finish a renovation this fall that includes room upgrades, restaurant enhancements and a meeting facility expansion.

Seven properties ideal for the incentive market joined Mexico Boutique Hotels’ luxury portfolio: La Casa de la Marquesa in Queretaro; Casa de la Sierra Nevada in San Miguel de Allende; La Casa de las Rosas in Morelia; Clarum 101 in Guadalajara; Tamarindo in Costa Alegre; Casa Sandra near Cancun; and The Tides–Riviera Maya.

Mexico Secretary of Tourism Rodolfo Elizondo heralded a “globalized” Tianguis for 2008, with participation by Latin America destinations and service providers.

“After 32 years of experience, we’re ready to open up to competition from other countries, which will encourage Mexico’s tourism representatives to strive even harder to stay ahead of the competition,” Elizondo said.