The chairman of the Senate Tourism Committee is urging a special panel investigate Fonatur, the National Tourism Development Fund.

Fonatur, which gave Mexico Cancun, Ixtapa and, to some degree, Los Cabos, spent a billion and a half pesos during the previous administration (2000 - 2006) in a failed attempt to develop something it called the Nautical Stairway.

Goal was to build 29 marinas along both coasts of the Baja California peninsula in order to attract yacht traffic from the United States. Sen. Luis Coppola wants to know what happened.

Vast sums of public money raised from taxes were spent, but very little accomplished. The senator demanded that former Fonatur general director John McCarthy be summoned to explain the failure.

By Jimm Budd

The Gulf Coast state of Campeche is the latest to shoot for the big time, with work beginning on an exposition center in Campeche City and a convention center in Ciudad del Carmen with a Westin resort planned at the Campeche Beach, Golf, Marina and Spa complex being developed by Spanish investors along the shore.

The historic center Campeche City, famous in the viceregal era for its dye wood, has been restored to its antique glory. Ciudad del Carmen, island headquarters for the offshore oil industry, has spruced up considerably in recent years as petroleum prices soar and reserves begin to dwindle. Biggest surprise is the project to turn the state’s coastline into a playground. Until now, the Gulf shore had defied such development. In April, new regulations were announced aimed at protecting its ecology and environment.

By Jimm Budd

Yhi Spas en Gran Meliá Cancún ha establecido un estándar sin paralelo en México, elevando el concepto de resort spa a niveles superiores. Siendo el único resort spa en México que incorpora los principios hindúes del Ayurveda, Yho Spa presenta una fusión de antiguas culturas y modernas sensibilidades. Esta singularidad es una razón por la cual Yhi Spa fue honrado recientemente como miembro del exclusivo grupo de Leading Spas of the World.

Una filosofía de curación y limpieza holística con 5,000 años de antigüedad basada en el principio de que la piel es el espejo de la salud interior, Ayurveda utiliza las propiedades curativas de las plantas, hierbas y aceites esenciales para mejorar la salud de la piel, liberar el estrés, mejorar la energía y recuperar un estado de bienestar.

La experta en spas y Directora de Yhi Spa para las América, Jelena Leposavic, está consciente de que el concepto subyacente al spa es uno de los más exclusivos en llegar a México. “Estamos entusiasmados en brindar a los huéspedes esta experiencia rejuvenecedora única en su clase que representa mucho más que sólo tratamientos de spa, más bien es una vivencia transformadora que equilibra el yo interno”.

Gran Meliá Cancún, de cinco estrellas, con su emblemática arquitectura inspirada de una pirámide maya, ostenta la distinción de Cuatro Diamantes AAA. Visite www.granmeliacancun.com

Impresionante biodiversidad, inmejorable clima, moderna infraestructura y excelentes servicios turísticos son tan sólo algunos de los elementos que distinguen a Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo y que lo sitúan como el destino del Pacífico Mexicano con innumerables ventajas competitivas, e ideal para la celebración de diversos eventos deportivos, culturales, gastronómicos y náuticos de clase mundial.

Dentro de la vasta oferta turística con que cuenta Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, pueden distinguirse siete segmentos principales: Pesca, Familia, Grupos y Convenciones, Golf, Ecoturismo y Aventura, Romance y Gastronomía. En torno a estos segmentos, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo organiza y desarrolla, año con año, relevantes eventos deportivos que atraen la atención tanto de nacionales como de extranjeros, y que pueden disfrutarse de manera individual, en pareja o en familia.

Estos son los eventos programados para el mes de mayo que tendrán lugar en Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo:

Torneo Internacional de la Pesca de Pez Vela. Tradicional torneo de pesca que otorga valiosos premios a las distintas categorías participantes.

Fecha: 2 al 5 de mayo

Lugar: Bahía de Zihuatanejo

Torneo Internacional de Bodysurf Las Escolleras. Participación de destacados bodysurfistas nacionales y extranjeros.

Fecha: 17 y 18 de mayo

Lugar: Playa Las Escolleras, Ixtapa

Triatlón Internacional de Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. Tradicional triatlón - Copa Continental ITU y Campeonato Centroamericano y del Caribe Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Jumex 2008.

Fecha: 17 de mayo

Lugar: Avenidas de Ixtapa y Playa El Palmar

Today is Labor Day in Mexico, as it is in much of the world. May Day commemorates the Haymarket Riots in Chicago during early May in 1886, a date largely ignored in the United States.
Since today is Thursday, many people will be taking Friday off, too, and perhaps Monday, May 5, Cinco de Mayo. In 1862, Mexican troops defeated an invading French army in Puebla on May 5, but the date is observed more outside of Mexico than within it. The French, after all, regrouped and eventually seized first Puebla, then Mexico City, leaving only after the Civil War ended in the United States and Washington urged them to depart.

By Jimm Budd

The hospitality industry in Oaxaca City, gradually recovering from anti-government protests that left the tourism industry reeling in 2006, now is faced with more of the same.

The leader of the protests, recently released from prison, has promised that his followers will take to the streets starting in mid June, demanding, among other things, the resignation of the governor.

The protests began with a strike by public school teachers, turning worse when police tried and failed to quell a demonstration that blocked downtown streets. In the weeks that followed, protesters seized and occupied downtown Oaxaca. Tourists, who in the past had come to savor the viceregal flavor of the city, visit its archaeological sites and picturesque villages nearby, stayed away in droves. Several shops, restaurants and hotels closed, others barely survived.

Starting Saturday, Oaxaca hopes to recover its faded image with a week long Humanitas festival, followed in July by the Guelaguetza folkloric dance festival in July. In 2006, protesters forced the cancellation of the Guelaguetza and last year few tourists troubled to attend.

By Jimm Budd

Nace en Puerto Vallarta como un proyecto de innovación donde se conjuga la tecnología de vanguardia y la alta expresión artística, dando como resultado modernos módulos armónicamente integrados a esculturas de bronce, creadas por el renocido artista Octavio González.

Esta fusión de arte y tecnología lo convierten en un producto único en su género no sólo en México, sino en el mundo entero, ya que no sólo embellece la imagen de la ciudad, sino que ofrece una guía informativa, funcional, accesible y gratuita para visitantes y habitantes de Puerto Vallarta, otorgando así un servicio de clase mundial con información en varios idiomas.

Para mayor información visite www.infoarte.com.mx

An innovative service combining sculptural art and multimedia digital information has taken shape in Puerto Vallarta. In keeping with the town’s public art initiative, Puerto Vallarta has incorporated 20 bronze sculptures in five different models, all created by local artist Octavio Gonzalez that combine fine arty with a touch of screen providing digital services including local tourist information and the history of Puerto Vallarta. These multimedia sculptures can be found in strategic locations throughout town including the Malecon, Marina Vallarta, the Hotel Zone and the “old town” Romantic Zone.

Puerto Vallarta is the first destination in Mexico to offer travelers this digital information service. Additional information available at: www.infoarte.com.mx

Pete Garcia, one of the best-known personalities in the travel and hospitality industry, recently retired as vice president for Latin America at Continental Airlines, to establish his own consulting firm, Pete Garcia International. Among his clients is Aeromexico, the Texas Travel Industry Association and the Houston Chamber of Commerce.

Garcia is credited with turning Continental into the most important foreign airline serving Mexico. The carrier, using small Brazilian-built Embraer jets, now flies to about 30 cities in Mexico, many of them small, provincial capitals. Garcia will continue to be based in Houston.

By Jimm Budd