travelpulse.com
By Claudette Covey
June 12, 2013 4:49 PM
June 12, 2013 4:49 PM
Mazatlan is continuing to make a significant recovery following a drop in tourists since 2009 due to safety concerns. That situation, says Frank Cordova, secretary of tourism for the state of Sinaloa, has turned itself around. “Things are looking really, really good,” he told Travel Pulse. “We’ve had a month of May to remember. Four- and five-star hotels closed out may at about 85 percent occupancy,” he said, adding that May is traditionally a slower month.
Convention business has also fought its way back, with Mazatlan hosting 45,000 convention participants this year. Violent crime is down 80 percent from two years ago. “We haven’t had any incidents whatsoever in the tourism zone in over two years,” said Cordova. “Security is not an issue for us.”
Cordova said Mazatlan is working toward recouping its traditional markets, which include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Denver, Minnesota, southern Texas, Calgary and Vancouver with a $3 million advertising campaign that differentiates the destination from traditional beach resorts. “We’ve got a lot to offer that nobody else has,” Cordova said. “We have a Colonial city on the beach. We have the best of both worlds.”
Mazatlan has invested more than $7 million in restoring the city and is building a highway around the city that will reduce traffic that now runs through the destination.
In other tourism developments, both Holland America Line andNorwegian Cruise Line have begun serving the destination again. Cordova said that seven corporations have solicited bids to build hotels. On the airline front, Sun Country has more than doubled its seats into Mazatlan. Cordova said tourism officials are in negotiations with a host of other carriers to increase service. “We’re going to be able to close some good deals on flights,” he said.
Cordova said that he has high hopes that Mazatlan will host Tianguis Turistico in 2016 and has received a verbal promise from Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism Claudia Ruiz Massieu saying just that.
“We really want people to come back and get to know us again,” Cordova said. “That’s really what our message is.”
Convention business has also fought its way back, with Mazatlan hosting 45,000 convention participants this year. Violent crime is down 80 percent from two years ago. “We haven’t had any incidents whatsoever in the tourism zone in over two years,” said Cordova. “Security is not an issue for us.”
Cordova said Mazatlan is working toward recouping its traditional markets, which include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Denver, Minnesota, southern Texas, Calgary and Vancouver with a $3 million advertising campaign that differentiates the destination from traditional beach resorts. “We’ve got a lot to offer that nobody else has,” Cordova said. “We have a Colonial city on the beach. We have the best of both worlds.”
Mazatlan has invested more than $7 million in restoring the city and is building a highway around the city that will reduce traffic that now runs through the destination.
In other tourism developments, both Holland America Line and
Cordova said that he has high hopes that Mazatlan will host Tianguis Turistico in 2016 and has received a verbal promise from Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism Claudia Ruiz Massieu saying just that.
“We really want people to come back and get to know us again,” Cordova said. “That’s really what our message is.”
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