Rainy Days
Three weeks into the summer vacation season and resorts at nine seaside destinations report a disappointing 57-6 percent occupancy rate. Not showing up are domestic tourists, who account for about 80 percent of hotel occupancy in Mexico. Many reasons are given for the disappointing figures, from slow economic recovery to more hotels competing for the same number of customers, but the big reason may be the weather. Rain has been falling along both all coastlines for the past three weeks. Inland, many highways are occasionally flooded.
Spirit and Volaris
Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara has just returned from Miami, where, she announced, she met with with Ben Baldanza, CEO of Spirit. She reports that low-fare Sprit is interested in flying to Toluca, Campeche, Leon and Guadalajara and possibly other points in Mexico. Spirit now flies to Cancun.
Barceló eyes cities
Spanish hotel group Barceló, known now in Mexico primarily for its all-inclusive resorts at seaside destinations, has announced plans to open hotels in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The new properties should be in operation sometime in 2012, according to Miguel Angel Guajardo, general director of the group in Mexico. At the moment the only Barceló in Mexico not on the beach is in Cuernavaca, a favorite weekend playground for Mexico City.
By Jimm Budd
Riviera Nayarit
Only one percent of all hotels classified by the American Automobile Association rate five diamonds. But ten percent are located in Mexico, three in the Riviera Nayarit. This Riviera is Mexico’s newest, extending north from Puerto Vallarta for 300 kilometers (about 185 miles) along the shores of the state of Nayarit.
Goals announced
Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara expects Mexico to be the fifth most visited country in the world within six or seven years. Currently it ranks tenth and is number 20 in earnings. Needed to reach this goal is more business from additional markets. For the moment, eight out of ten international tourists come from the United States and Canada. Ms Guevara hopes to change this, with 40 percent of all travelers arriving from other countries. She sees China as especially promising.
Changes at Volaris
Two of Mexico’s richest men, Emilio Azcárraga (Televisa) and Carlos Slim (everything else) have sold their stock in Volaris, one of the new, low-fare airlines. Each held a 25 percent interest in the company.
