At the beginning of October, Learn Vallarta’s proposal of offering English-speaking American and Canadian residents as a volunteer group to help welcome tourists as they visit the tourism office was gracefully accepted by Director of the Office of Tourism and Economic Development, Jose Luis Diaz Borioli.  Now, after our first two weeks, we are very pleased with our success as is Director Borioli.  We have been warmly received by his staff and enthusiasm abounds on all sides. 

Our first thirty volunteers are mostly retired, have a deep love for Vallarta, and want to help others learn more about what it is like to live here.  As more folks return to visit or to move here, all of Vallarta benefits, both culturally and economically. Opportunities for contributing to the marketing efforts of the tourism office, including suggestions for added services, ideas for the website, and a design for volunteer shirts have been offered as a way for resident foreigners to work on a community-wide basis with the Mexican people of Vallarta towards a warm and welcoming presence by this new volunteer group. We continue to look for positive and enthusiastic Americans and Canadians who are available and willing to volunteer for this exciting new endeavor. If you are interested in joining this group, contact Learn Vallarta:  info@learnvallarta.com.

During the recent 19th General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mexico was unanimously selected for a seat on the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization. The World Tourism Organization is an international agency dedicated to creating financial and societal advancement and reducing poverty.

Mexico’s induction into the council reflects much of the hard work of the Mexico Tourism Board and the leadership of Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara. With this seat on the UNWTO, Mexico will have the opportunity to administer its own decisions and provide policy recommendations to the General Assembly, which will promote expansion in international tourism.  Tourism in Mexico remains strong – despite the global economy. In 2010, Mexico welcomed 22 million international tourists, making Mexico the world’s tenth most-visited destination.

As a member of the Executive Council, Mexico will help lead the more than 150 member nations in creating policies that promote investment, employment, and foreign exchange. This seat on the Executive Council represents a major breakthrough for Mexican tourism and international tourism, as Mexico has been diligently working to increase tourism in the country through its many campaign efforts.

SOURCE:  The Mexico Report and Marca Pais - Imagen de Mexico

The return of several well-known cruise ships to the Maritime Terminal is a sign of increasing confidence for cruise lines that Puerto Vallarta and the Mexican Riviera is still an attractive destination for adults and children.

The terminal is now receiving weekly visits from Carnival Splendor and Pacific Star on Thursdays and Ocean Dream on Fridays.  Pullmantur, which operates Ocean Dream and Dream Pacific, now has a weekly route starting from Acapulco and entering several ports, including Puerto Vallarta. It is expected that this cruise line alone will bring 100,000 passengers into the Puerto Vallarta port this year.

The cruise ship Disney Wonder, a boat distinguished by its sophisticated and modern design, was built especially for families. Among its many features, this ship has 11 decks and the capacity to comfortably accommodate 2,700 passengers, along with 950 crew members and performers.  It docks every Wednesday from September 28 to April of 2012.

Excerpted from:  Banderas News, La Tribuna, Vallarta Opina

Scheduled to open in October, 2012, Hilton Puerto Vallarta will be the next hotel in the company’s aggressive expansion campaign to grow the Hilton Worldwide portfolio throughout Mexico and Latin America.

Located just five minutes from Puerto Vallarta’s International Airport and cruise ship terminal, this all-inclusive property will feature 259 luxury rooms, executive and honeymoon suites, and three meeting rooms with a full-service business center.  For groups and conventions, the Grand Salon will have a capacity for up to 600 persons in banquet setting.

Amenities will include five gourmet restaurants, spa with a Jacuzzi area, sauna, solarium and beauty salon, outdoor swimming pool and gym.  A children’s Adventure Club is also planned.

Hilton Worldwide currently has a portfolio of more than 20 hotels and resorts open and welcoming travelers in Mexico. The company has eight hotels currently under development throughout the country and continues to actively pursue additional growth opportunities in Mexico.

Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts said, “Latin America remains a key development market for us as our brand continues its rapid global growth.  Hilton Puerto Vallarta will be a much-anticipated addition to this leading leisure travel market.”

 Source: Hilton Worldwide and The Mexico Report

Here is the new 2011 result from International Living’s research. We continue to report these articles to emphasize how popular Mexico is for retirement.

 2011 Global Retirement Second Place Winner:  MEXICO

White sand beaches and turquoise-blue seas, with hammocks swaying nearby…centuries-old Spanish-colonial cities with winding, cobblestone streets and fountain-filled plazas…towering Mexico is rich in romance, as the one million-plus U.S. and Canadian expats who live there will tell you.

But expats don’t live by romance alone. Fortunately, Mexico also provides solid, modern-day comforts and conveniences. That secluded, away-from-it-all beach on the deserted, packed-sand road? You can get within a few miles of it on a modern highway—one of the many that criss-crosses Mexico. Those centuries-old cities with their colonial homes? Today their walls conceal telephone and high-speed Internet cables and their roofs sport satellite dishes and solar water heaters.

Likewise, health care is very much 21st century, with first-rate hospitals, clinics, and medical staff. (Don’t speak Spanish? Many doctors, especially in private clinics, speak English.) And the bill will likely run you half or less of what you’d pay at home.

In fact, life in Mexico can cost you up to 40% less than what you’d pay in the U.S. for a similar lifestyle. It’s also lived at a slower, more gracious pace. And that is what, finally, many expats seek. As expat Jill Jackson, who lives in Loreto, Baja California Sur, explains: “It lets me be the person I have always wanted to be.”

August 22, 2011       International Living Magazine

On August 8th, three blocks of the Puerto Vallarta Malecón were opened under the supervision of Mayor Salvador González Reséndiz, who toured the area to ensure that everything was in order and on schedule. Among the many improvements, structurally and artistically, are the number of palm trees in the downtown area which will be increased from the 28 trees that previously ran the length of the Malecón to more than 200 palms, which will add life and shade to this attractive tourist spot in the city.

Those responsible for the project told the Mayor that most of the structural part of the work has been completed and now the space can be opened up for workers to begin landscaping, installing light fixtures, and finishing the sidewalk, which is being laid by hand in the traditional and artisanal manner with small stones that form a series of figures that will run the length of the Malecón and together tell a story. This work is being done in Huichol art, which will be explained in detail as part of a display that will be in the new museum scheduled to open soon in the current city hall on the plaza.

The Malecón project is scheduled to be completed and unveiled by October in time for the thousands expected for the Pan American Games.

Excerpted from:   Banderas News

Confirmed by Tourism Secretary, Fernando Olivera Rocha, who said that the bid was won due to the quality of hotels and the facilities the Banderas Bay region offers, air connectivity to Vallarta, and of course the new Puerto Vallarta Convention Center, where the event will be held.

This convention is Mexico’s largest tourism expo, and for years has been held in Acapulco.  Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit are two of Mexico´s leading beach destinations which have begun collaborating to promote the destinations as an excellent convention destination to event organizers across the US.

The proposal was submitted to the judges as “Two Destinations, One Paradise,” offering 29 thousand hotel rooms, and the recently built 15,000 square meter Puerto Vallarta International Convention Center, which can host events with up to 7,000 participants.

The first open call to host the national event involved 18 destinations, among them Boca del Rio, Veracruz; Mazatlan, Sinaloa; Acapulco, Guerrero; Guadalajara, Jalisco and Mexico City.

The Ministry of Tourism stated that it would leverage the event’s size and prestige across various destinations in Mexico, using the event to promote tourism throughout the country.

Excerpted from Bandera News

Acknowledging that Mexico needs a better image, President Felipe Calderón has proclaimed 2011 to be the Year of Tourism in Mexico. With the Pan American games coming to Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta in October of 2011, Mexico’s President and recently appointed Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara know that it is important to show the world that the vast majority of Mexico is safe for visitors to explore.

Although painted with a very broad paint brush of fear and violence, Puerto Vallarta, in fact, remains very safe and is an ideal tourist destination.  President Calderón, Gloria Guevara and Peter Greenberg were here recently to portray to the world that Puerto Vallarta is just that; safe, beautiful, diverse and idyllic. With camera crew in hand, the President along with Peter Greenberg spent an afternoon exploring the Malecón in downtown Puerto Vallarta.  Stopping at each statue, chatting with passers-by and working their way along the beautiful boardwalk, their mission; to show television viewers the flip side of Mexico that the news is not reporting.

Brenda Retzlaff de Rivera for Banderas News

For complete article:     Learn Vallarta Articles