Attendees at the 37th annual Tianguis Turistico got a first-hand opportunity to experience what’s new in both Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit, the two areas that co-hosted this year’s event.
On one particularly elegant evening, delegates gathered at the recently refurbished waterfront Malecon, which has nearly doubled in size thanks to the conversion of the adjacent roadway to a pedestrian-only thoroughfare. The impressive cocktail event showcased the city’s ability to host private events in public spaces—and also served as an ideal event to show off the brand-new logo unveiled by the Puerto Vallarta CVB: a stylized, colorful version of the popular sea horse sculpture that graces the waterfront.
According to Juan Carlos Villanueva, sales executive at Tropical Incentives, the most popular group activities in the destination are excursions that capitalize on what makes Puerto Vallarta unique—including a “Night of Art,” featuring cocktails at one or more of the city’s many art galleries, and “Rhythms of the Night,” featuring a trip to Las Caletas, the former jungle hideaway of film director John Houston, where cocktails, a meal and live entertainment highlight the experience.
“I think Puerto Vallarta is No.1 [for group activities],” said Gloria Pena, general manager of Vallarta Travel Advisors, a Puerto Vallarta-based DMC. “We not only have the bay with all kinds of water activities but a wide range of mountains. You can do bird watching, hiking, biking, ATV, horseback riding, zip lining and rappelling.”
In the nearby state of Nayarit, tourism officials unveiled plans to market three new tourism products that will also likely appear on more group and incentive itineraries: Sierra del Nayar, where indigenous residents keep traditional cultures alive, Colonial Nayarit, which allows groups to learn more about the region’s colonial history, and Lagunas Encantadas, where visitors can take in the natural beauty of three lagoons.
According to Richard Zarkin, public relations manager for the Riviera Nayarit CVB, group business—and especially incentives—is a growing segment.
“We have small groups, mostly in the high-end hotels,” he said.
Incentive activities can include anything from zip lining and horseback riding to shopping in traditional villages, he noted.
Among the local DMCs are IVI and Vallarta Adventures, which has a fleet of small planes that are ideal for efficiently transporting groups to far-off mountain villages and colonial towns.
