Aquarium Shark Tank Could be Open by Easter

by Maureen Dietrich

8 Jan 15 

mazmessenger.com

Fraught with construction and technical errors, the shark tank remains empty

In July, 2010 the construction of a shark tank at Mazatlán’s aquarium began. At that time, the Sinaloa government announced the tank would be open to the public at the end of that year or beginning of 2011. Fraught with construction and technical errors, the shark tank remains empty and has become a thorn in the side of both the Sinaloa and municipal governments.

Yesterday at a closed door meeting, Mazatlán Mayor Carlos Felton and Secretary of Public Works, José Luis Sevilla, agreed to move the project forward saying they see many positive aspects for the project and ways to solve current problems.

Including, they announced, a meeting with a technician today who investigated the installation and operation of the tank’s life support system to diagnose what is missing and how much it will cost to make the tank operational. With luck, said the Mayor, there will be sharks in the tank by Semana Santa (Easter).

And although the Secretary of Public Works stated there are no funds in the municipality´s budget for the project, the Mayor assured media Sinaloa Public Works has money earmarked for the aquarium and the Secretary of Tourism may have some remaining funds to contribute.

Municipal councilmen Humberto Becerra Batista, coordinator of the Comisión de Urbanismo, and Esperanza Kazuga Osaka, pointed out they were not included in the closed door meeting and called for transparency saying although they have insisted on being given information about the project they have not received any explanations.

What they have noticed, said Becerra Batista, is a project poorly executed which has not been explained to them. They want transparency and an accounting and called on the Sinaloa Auditor General´s office to follow up.

 (from Noroeste)

Tourists from U.S. up 19.3% in First Nine Months of 2014

by Murry Page

6 Jan 15 

mazmessenger.com

 

México’s Ministry of Tourism told reporters that during the first nine months of 2014, 18.424 million American tourists traveled to México, an increase of 19.3 percent over the same period in 2013.

 

The number of tourists arriving by air during that period totaled 5.298 million, 13.7 percent more than during the January through September period in 2013.

 

(from El Financiero)

Immigration aims for faster processing

More agents are on the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mexico News Daily | Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Travelers arriving by air at various Mexican airports ought to see shorter waits in the immigration lineups now that additional agents have been trained to receive arrivals.

The National Immigration Institute (INM) has added more personnel at six international airports so as to reduce processing times.

At the Mexico City airport, where 240,000 foreigners arrive every month, the INM figures that three minutes are needed to process the documentation for each one. With 140 flights arriving daily, the 40 INM desks can handle up to 3,000 foreign visitors in the course of 25-30 minutes.

In Cancún the number of agents has been doubled to speed up the process.

Other airports affected are Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Monterrey and Los Cabos.

Frequent American travelers to Mexico also have the option of using the Viajero Confiable, or Trusted Traveler program, if they are enrolled in the United States’ Global Entry system. Visitors insert their passports in a scanner and input other information in the process, which is supposed to take no more than three minutes.

The service is available at the airports in Mexico City, Los Cabos and Cancún.

The processing times are only those for immigration. Customs is even faster but not when you press the button and lose the red light lottery, which gets you a bag inspection.

Source: Notimex (sp)

- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/immigration-aims-faster-processing/#sthash.A0rjEEwc.dpuf

Mexico welcomed 10.1% more foreign visitors

tourism-review.com

Date 22.12.2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The number of foreign visitors in Mexico increased by 10.1% between January and October this year, with the total amount of visitors reaching 10.5 million tourists during the period.

The Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) reported in a statement that according to the National Migration Institute (INM), this figure exceeds the 9.6 million international visitors recorded during the same period in 2013.

The foreign exchange earnings from international visitors showed a positive development, reaching $13.34 billion in the tenth month of this year, according to the Bank of Mexico (Banxico). All this, the institution explained, is equivalent to 16.7% more than the $11.254 billion recorded during the same period last year.

In October, there was an inflow of $1.96 billion, $818 million of which came from tourists who came by air, which is an increase of 13.0% over October 2013. The central bank said that the average expenditure of travellers who came by air was $949.1, a figure that is 10.1% higher than the figure for January to October the previous year. In the first 10 months of 2014, tourist arrivals reached 23.2 million, a figure that is 18.6 % higher than arrivals in the country in the same period in 2013.

According to the Migration Policy Unit (PSU) of the Ministry of the Interior (Segob), the main source of tourists coming to Mexico is the United States, with 5.9 million visitors between January and October. They are followed by Canadian visitors with 1.3 million and travellers from the UK with 389,000.

As for tourists coming from emerging economies, the Tourism Ministry noted that tourist arrivals from Colombia increased by 24.7%, China by 24.4%, Venezuela by 9.1%, while for Brazil there was a 13.7% increase over the period January-October 2013.

Read more at http://www.tourism-review.com/mexico-reported-101-more-foreign-visitors-news4378#6eBV0UzAdCSBqszq.99

Air Connectivity to Mazatlán to Increase

mazmessenger.com

by Murry Page

19 Dec 14 

 

Francisco Córdova Celaya, the Secretary of Tourism for the state of Sinaloa, told reporters that for 2015 the number of flights into Mazatlán from the U.S. and Canada will increase 44 percent, while the number of passenger seats will increase by 39 percent.

The Secretary said that Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and US Airways will be arriving in Mazatlán from six different cities in the U.S, increasing the number of flights into Mazatlán from 29 to 45 flights a week.

Córdova Celaya noted that next year American Airlines is expected to double the number of flights per week and the number of passenger seats, which are currently stands at 14 and 700, respectively.

Flights from Canada by the carriers WestJet Airlines and Sunwing Airlines with routes from Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver will grow by 4 percent next year to seven flights a week with a total of 1,149 passenger seats.

Westjest is projected to double the number of passenger seats in its Mazatlán routes in 2015.

(from RíoDoce)

Airport Celebrates Passenger No. 755,000

 by Maureen Dietrich

17 Dec 14 

mazmessenger.com

 

The 755,000^th passenger to arrive at Mazatlán’s Rafael Buelna airport this year was greeted yesterday afternoon with a celebration of balloons, confetti and gifts from stores within the terminal.

The surprised recipient of the celebration was Ana María Ramírez Arellano, a resident of Mazatlán, who had just returned from a vacation in Mexico City.

Administrator of the airport, José Luis Villanueva, told media 731,000 passengers passed through the airport in 2013 and although they were celebrating the 755,000^th yesterday this year was not yet over and he expected to exceed 760,000 by the end of December. 

(from Noroeste)

Repunta número de visitantes a Mazatlán

periodicoviaje.com

Julio Birrueta, director de la Oficina de Promoción del destino, informó que el puerto registra un aumento en de 23 por ciento en el flujo de turistas nacionales, esto debido a diversas acciones realizadas en favor del sector turístico, entre las que destacan la llegada de cruceros y la apertura de la autopista Mazatlán-Durango. Debido al buen repunte se incrementarán rutas aéreas.

por Redacción el Lunes 15 de diciembre de 2014 a las 14:35

Con la apertura de la autopista Mazatlán-Durango, el flujo de visitantes se incrementó en 34 por ciento.

 

 

El puerto de Mazatlán, Sinaloa, registra un aumento en de 23 por ciento en el flujo de turistas nacionales, esto debido a diversas acciones realizadas en favor del sector turístico, entre las que destacan la llegada de cruceros y la apertura de la autopista Mazatlán-Durango, entre otras.

Julio Birrueta, director de la Oficina de Promoción de Mazatlán, dijo que la llegada de cruceros ha contribuido a incrementar el número de visitantes extranjeros y se registran 35 llegadas, además de que ha reactivado de manera importante la actividad turística y comercial en los pueblos aledaños al destino, cuya única fuente económica hace algunos años era la agricultura.

Así, el reciente arribo del Crown Princes llevó al destino tres mil 102 turistas, además de visitas, recorridos y rutas turísticas hacia los pueblos El Quelite, Copala, Malpica y Concordia, informó.

Agregó que el turismo nacional ha venido incrementando su participación en los últimos dos años al representar el 70 por ciento del total de visitantes.

Esto, dijo, debido principalmente al incremento en el número de congresos y convenciones nacionales, así como al mayor flujo de visitantes de negocios y de turistas provenientes de estados aledaños.

Asimismo, con la apertura de la autopista Mazatlán-Durango, el flujo de visitantes se incrementó en 34 por ciento desde los estados vecinos en los últimos 12 meses, dada la mejor accesibilidad al destino y la reducción en el tiempo de manejo.

Los habitantes de Durango, Zacatecas, Coahuila y Nuevo León son los que más visitan en cada oportunidad el Puerto de Mazatlán, sobre todo en puentes y fines de semana, temporadas de alta ocupación que más se han visto incrementadas.

Abren rutas aéreas

En cuanto a las líneas aéreas, se espera en este mes llegadas internacionales de Delta Airlines proveniente de los Ángeles, California; además Westjet aumentará en 10 por ciento sus asientos con aviones de mayor capacidad y Sun Country duplicará su número de vuelos.

Así también Aeroméxico anunció dos nuevos vuelos desde el puerto de Mazatlán y Los Mochis hacia la ciudad de Tijuana, Baja California, con inicio de operaciones desde el 20 y 21 de diciembre.

Ante el crecimiento de la demanda turística al puerto, recientemente se inauguró en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Mazatlán “Gral. Rafael Buelna” la ampliación y remodelación del edificio terminal que incluye el crecimiento de la zona del ambulatorio y documentación de pasajeros y reconfiguración de espacios en sala de espera nacional.

Así también se construyeron áreas comerciales y de servicios, se incrementaron los servicios sanitarios, se reubicaron las oficinas administrativas, se modernizó la fachada principal del edificio terminal, así como dos nuevos pasillos telescópicos de última generación y una posición adicional en plataforma remota.

Tourism Grows in Mexico

theyucatantimes.com

Tourism in Mexico
Photo: Google

MEXICO (Notimex).-

Despite the insecurity in certain areas of the country, the number of foreign visitors to the Mexico increased by 10.1 percent from January to October of this year, with the arrival of 10.5 million tourists.

The Ministry of Tourism said that, according to the National Migration Institute (INM), this figure exceeds 9.6 million international passengers during the same period in 2013. The foreign exchange earnings from international visitors showed a positive development, reaching the tenth month of this year 13, 034 million dollars, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) said.

This, said the Central Bank, is equivalent to 16.7 percent compared to 11 thousand 254 million US dollars in the same period last year.

In October this year, 1,096 million entered the country, of which $ 818 million are from tourists who arrived by air, which means an increase of 13 percent compared to October 2013.

Cancun Mexico

 Average Spending

Tourism Minister stated that the average expenditure of travelers who entered airway was $ 949.1 USD, a figure 10.1% higher than achieved from January to October last year. Therefore, in the first ten months of 2014  23.2 million tourists were admitted, a figure 18.6 percent higher than those who entered the country in the same period of 2013.

According to the Migration Policy Unit of the Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB), the main source of tourists to Mexico is the United States, with 5.9 million visitors from January to October. After that, Canadian visitors follow, with 1.3 million, and the UK, with 389,000 tourist arrivals.

As for the entry of travelers from emerging economies, the Tourism Ministry also noted that passengers from Colombia rose 24.7%, China 24.4%, Venezuela 9.1%, while Brazil reached 13.7% over the January-October period of 2013.

JJ. Argáez/The Yucatan Times

Mexico to have 13 new highways

Friday, 28 November 2014 00:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thenews.com.mx

Mexico to have 13 new highways

By the end of 2014 there will be 13 new highways in Mexico, said Communications and Transportation Secretary Gerardo Ruiz Esparza on Wednesday in Quintana Roo.

The federal government set out to build 46 new highways at the beginning of Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration. There are 26 highways being built that will be completed before the president’s tenure ends.

These works are part of the implementation of the new telecommunications law, which has already proven to be advantageous to society.

Ruiz Esparza and Peña Nieto inaugurated on Wednesday the Nuevo Xcan-Playa del Carmen highway. By December this year, the Salamanca-Irapuato highway, with an investment of 1.2 billion pesos ($93.7 million), the Mazatlán bypass, with an investment of 1.8 billion pesos, the Guadalajara-Colima highway, with an investment of 500 million pesos, and Chihuahua western bypass will be completed, with a 6.4 billion peso investment.

Once those projects come to an end, they will add to the 700 kilometers of new highway infrastructure that has been built in the first two years of Peña Nieto’s administration with an investment of 55 billion pesos. By the end of his tenure, there will be more 3,000 kilometers of new highways.

On Friday, members of the federal government organized a round table for the Mexico Connected program. It is composed of representatives of civil society, scholars and infrastructure experts who will decide in which public spaces in Quintana Roo install broadband Internet.

The aim is to provide all public elementary, middle and high schools in Quintana Roo with Internet access. The program also includes Internet services in universities, clinics, hospitals, libraries and public parks. It is estimated that between March and December 2015, Quintana Roo will install broadband Internet in all the aforementioned spaces.

More flights linking Mexico and U.S.

JetBlue wants to offer Mexico City-Florida flights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mexico News Daily | Wednesday, November 5, 2014

More airline flights between Mexico and the United States are coming in December courtesy of Volaris, and there might be more still if JetBlue gets approval from U.S. transportation authorities.

Volaris, a low-cost Mexican carrier, will begin offering direct service between Mexico City and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 1 and between Guadalajara and Fort Lauderdale on December 4.

The Mexico City flights will operate three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The Guadalajara flights will run Thursday and Sunday.

Census data shows 66% of Fort Lauderdale/Miami residents are of Hispanic or Latin American descent — more than 2.3 million people — which was one draw for Volaris.

JetBlue, a U.S.-based low-cost airline, wants to offer direct service between Mexico City and Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida. It would fly twice daily from Fort Lauderdale and once a day from Orlando, using a 150-seat Airbus A320.

If approved by the U.S. Department of Transport, service would begin around next June.

Sources: Sun-Sentinel (en), USA Today (en)

- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/flights-linking-mexico-u-s/#sthash.ekfSqPwt.dpuf

US tourism to Mexico increases

 Monday, 27 October 2014 00:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thenews.com.mx

US tourism to Mexico increases

BY LILLIAN REYES

The News

MEXICO CITY – The air travel tourism market stemming from the United States increased 13.3 percent, registering 5,162,534 tourists from January to August this year, in comparison to the same period last year.

The General Director of the Mexican Tourist Promotion Council Rodolfo López Negrete said that based on the information from the Comprehensive System of Migratory Operation (SIOM) from the Migratory Policy Unit of the Interior Secretariat (Segob), the majority of the nation’s tourism markets have increased.

As part of the Third Ordinary Session of the CPTM Governing Board, López Negrete said that other important growing markets were in Europe. The United Kingdom grew 9 percent with 302,950 tourists; Spain by 9.6 percent with 212,104 tourists; Germany by 11.6 percent with 132,191 tourists and Italy by 11.1 percent with 116,831 tourists.

He also said that growth in the Latin American market was evident in Colombia with a 24.4 percent increase (201,406 tourists) and also in Brazil, registering a 9.2 percent increase and 197,613 tourists. Asia also maintained good market growth with a 26.1 percent increase (46,844 tourists).

Before the members of the CPTM governing body, López Negrete said that during the first half of 2014, tourism from the United States grew 7.8 percent, but from this total, the number of tourists traveling to Mexico increased by 14.1 percent, which represents almost double the normal outbound tourism rate from the United States, according to a report by the United States Department of Commerce.

The previous number implies that Mexico’s market participation increased from 17 percent in the first half of 2013 to 18 percent in the first half of 2014.

Tourists from U.S. Hits Three-Year High

by Murry Page

17 Sep 14

mazmessenger.com

 

According to reports of the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI), the arrival of American tourists during the period of January to April of this year is the best level in the last three years.

OTTI said that during that four month period 8.192 million tourists from the United States visited México. During the same period last year that number was 6.847 million. The first four months of 2012 saw 7.6 million American tourists.

The primary destination for the visiting tourists was Cancun, although OTTI noted that in recent years areas that promote culture and adventure have been growing dramatically.

In order to continue the growth in tourism from the United States the Ministry of Tourism has launched several campaigns to promote tourism, including Live it to Believe it.

During the period of January to April 2014, the largest share of México’s tourists came from the United States with 42.2 percent of the total; followed by Europe with 14.2 percent, the Caribbean with 12.3 percent, Canada with 11.8 percent; Asia with 7.6 percent; Central America with 4.8 percent, and South America with 2.8 percent.

(from Milenio)

Sectur: ’14 best year for Mexican tourism

Monday, 01 September 2014 01:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thenews.com.mx

Sectur: ’14 best year for Mexican tourism

Central Bank reports record surplus in sector’s balance

BY SUZZETE ALCÁNTARA

The News

MEXICO CITY – The Tourism Secretariat reported the first half of 2014 as the best in the history of tourism in Mexico.

Bank of México (Banxico) reported the number of international tourists in Mexico during the first half of 2014 exceeded 14.2 million.

Foreign exchange earnings from international visitors also recorded a historical high reaching $8.4 billion, which has never been observed in the first part of any past year. Tourism balance showed a surplus of $4.9 billion, a record amount for a period between January and June.

The number of international visitors increased 2.8 percent compared with the first half of 2013, reaching 39.4 million visitors.

According to Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA), the number of air passengers increased 9.7 percent during the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013, reaching 24.1 million passengers.

The arrival of passengers in domestic flights exceeded 15.3 million people, representing a 9.1 percent increase compared to the 2013 January to June period. The number of domestic flights increased 5.4 percent.

International flights recorded 8.8 million passengers, equivalent to a 10.7 percent increase compared to the first half of 2013. This result was accompanied by a 7.3 percent increase in the number of international flights.

According to nationality, air passengers from the United States registered the largest share with 56.5 percent of the total, followed by Canadians with 15.3 percent and from Latin America, Brazilians with 2.1 percent, said The Interior Secretariat (Segob).

“Mexico has everything it needs to become a global tourist destination,” said President Enrique Peña Nieto.

“We are restructuring the institutional framework to ensure effective implementation of state government programs aimed at promoting our national tourism development plan.”

Gov’t announces funding to help boost ecotourism projects

Mexico News Daily

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

 

Swimming with whale sharks, kayaking, river-rafting, diving and caving are among the myriad activities that Mexico offers in the way of ecotourism. With that in mind, the federal government has announced the allocation of 107 million pesos for its promotion in 14 areas of the country.

The money will be matched in equal amount by state governments.

The National Commission for Protected Areas estimates that ecotourism brought 2.5 million visitors last year, while 1,126 ecotourism businesses have been identified.

That figure is expected to grow in the coming years now that community businesses created in rural areas are in the process of developing their capacity and will be offering additional ecotourism attractions.

Along with its 174 protected natural areas Mexico is believed to have the largest number of species of reptile at 707, and comes in at second place for the number of mammal species, at 438.

It also ranks very high for species of amphibian and flora, which are found here in abundance.

The funding announcement was made at Adventure Travel Mexico 2014 by Carlos Joaquín González of the Tourism Secretariat. He said the ecotourism segment of the tourist industry is seen as having potential for innovative tourism products and for attracting new markets.

Source: Economía Hoy (sp)

- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/govt-announces-funding-help-boost-ecotourism-projects/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=ecotourismfunding#sthash.rCb0PQs7.dpuf