The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board, which will host the 2015 North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) 2015 Conference & Marketplace, has confirmed its activities and destination tours agenda for the conference. Designed to showcase the latest in the destination’s infrastructure and tourism offerings, the itinerary will also allow participants to experience the trend-setting adventure and cultural activities that have made the city an international destination and a source of continuous editorial stimulus.

The conference will take place from May 5 to 9, 2015 and is expected to bring over 100 travel industry leaders to Puerto Vallarta, including active journalists and editors from across Canada, the United States and Mexico. Representatives from international destinations and tourism leaders will also participate in the conference.

Industry sponsorship for the conference has been overwhelming with the destination’s top airlines, Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines as airline sponsors and Grupo Velas’ Velas Vallarta will be the host hotel.

The opening ceremony will be held at the old John Huston home, Las Caletas, with a especial performance of the destination’s iconic Vallarta Adventure’sRhythms of the Night. The 100% sustainable enterprise, Canopy River, will host the closing dinner with performances by the children’s Ballet Folkloric Xiutla and Mariachi Jalisco at their installations in the middle of the Sierra Madre.

Puerto Vallarta’s world-renown culinary scene, will be showcased throuought the conference with sunset cockatils and dinners at Casa Velas, Vista Grill, River Café, Café des Artistes, Trio, Maia and La Leche. Participants may also take cooking classes at El Arrayan or do a walking food tour of local community El Pitillal, with Vallarta Food Walking Tours.

Additional activities being offered to participants include a zip-lining and donkey-riding “River Expedition” with CANOPY RIVER, and education “Signatures Swim” with Dolphins at Dolphin Discovery, Mexico’s internationally awarded company for its reproduction efforts of sea mamals, horseback ride & swim at Hacienda Donna Engracia; experiencing Puerto Vallarta’s current trend – its beach clubs at Mantamar; praciting golf at the Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf 18-hole Vista Vallarta championship golf course; and ofcourse Puerto Vallarta’s luxurious spa’s, including the Marriott’s award winning Ohtli.

An additional day has been added to the conference to provide all participants with the opportuntiy to expereince Puerto Vallarta with full day tours to the city’s Botanical Garden, the protected areas of el Salado Estuary, the working ranch of Hacienda el Divisadero and the town of El Tuito or the local SPCA which has become a popular location for visiting families to volenteer as well as another family favortite, the Pirate Ship. Those looking to experience Puerto Vallarta’s beach side can explore some of the private beaches of the Bay of Banderas in a boat ride with Mike’s Fishing.

Post trips to the NATJA conference will include visits to the virgin beaches of Costalegre; the magical cities of Puerto Vallarta’s South; and the World Heritage site of the city of Tequila, Jalisco’s capital city of Guadalajara and others.

Register to participate at http://natja.org/conference/ and follow the conference at #NATJAPV15

Puerto Vallarta, one of Mexico’s leading resort destinations is set to record 2014 as one of the best years yet for its travel and tourism industry with ever growing numbers of travelers, new hotels and an increase in the overall number of hotel rooms, more flights, as well as additional cruise ship arrivals.

According to Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR), Puerto Vallarta registered an average 64.2% occupancy rate in the first nine months of 2014, a 6% increase over the same period last year. The number of rooms occupied for this period total 2,057,312, almost 70,000 more than in the same period in 2006, when Puerto Vallarta reported its highest number of room occupancy in the past 10 years with 1,987,782 rooms.

International arrivals registered at Puerto Vallarta hotels also increased by 5% from January to September 2014 over the same period last year.

Keeping up with Puerto Vallarta’s increasing numbers of visitors are the number of flights offered by different airlines to the destination. The overall number of flights (frequency) to PVR was up 23.87% in October 2014, over the same month in 2013; and up 22.6% in the month of October 2014, compared to September 2014. New direct routes from North America have also been launched this season including Alaska Airlines’ Portland, OR to Puerto Vallarta. Southwest Airlines has also just applied for DOT approval to serve Puerto Vallarta nonstop from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport.

Cruise ship arrivals are also up 43%. A total of 116 cruises will be calling at Puerto Vallarta this year, compared to 83 in 2013. A total of 141 cruises have already confirmed calls at Puerto Vallarta for 2015.

Some of thenew hotel developmentsin Puerto Vallarta include:

Early this year, two hotels oppenned in Puerto Vallarta - Hotel One, with 125 rooms & Holiday Inn Express, with 115 rooms – both conveniently located less than 10 minutes away from Puerto Vallarta’s a state-of-the-art International Convention Center, airport (PVR) and downtown. By the end of 2015 three other hotels will have opened, the Hyatt Ziva and Hotel Mousai in the Mismaloya area and the Altamar with 120 suites in the Romantic Zone. In addition, the Puerto Vallarta Fiesta Americana will be converting to an All-Inclusive in October.

This season will also mark the opening of new boutique properties in theZona Romántica, Piñata PV with six rooms in a corner of Puerto Vallarta thatblends Mexican & American modernism, industrial, and vintage design; Luna Líquida Boutique Hotel’s 5 villas offers an atmosphere of comfort and inspiration framed by a collection of handmade motives carefully selected by the proprietor and well-known musician and composer Fher Olvera, front man of the famous Mexican rock band Maná; Saphire Beach Club will be the newest beach club in Puerto Vallarta and will offer three luxury rooms right on the beach.

The Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta convention and visitors bureaus concluded their promotional activities in South America for 2014 by training 25 agents in Chile, Ecuador and Argentina.

This necessitated three separate FAM trips divided by country: 10 agents from Chile visited the region from November 22-25; 9 agents from Ecuador were here from December 1 – 3; and 6 agents from Argentina visited from December 6-12.

The groups performed site inspections in several hotels, as well as the requisite visits to the top attractions for tourists, including Sayulita, San Pancho and the Islas Marietas, to name but a few.

The objective of these trips was for the agents to experience for themselves the tourist attractions available in Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit so they can sell them more effectively and with greater assurance thanks to their first-hand knowledge.

“Promotion in South America has been a great success thanks to the strategic integration of the public relations, advertising and marketing segments. Several commercial alliances have been forged with these emerging markets and we’re certain to see a tangible return on investment very soon in the number of visitors to the destinations,” said Pamela Zepeda, Sales and Marketing Manager for the Riviera Nayarit CVB.

These efforts were a continuation of the Vallarta-Nayarit joint campaign spearheaded by the Mexico Tourism Board (MTB). South America is a potential market as it is seeking to experience more to Mexico than just the Caribbean.

The cross marketing campaign set in motion by the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) with Schick, Deezer and the Hard Rock Hotel was a resounding success. It was launched in August and to date has delivered over 5 million impressions via the domestic media.

The idea behind this public relations’ effort was to maximize the brands’ investments in order to generate ideas that would proactively and powerfully reach those audiences with the most compatible profiles.

The campaign began in August with the presentation of the rock band Coronel at the Hard Rock Hotel during a promotion titled “Libera tu Estilo con Schick en Riviera Nayarit” (Set Your Style Free With Schick In The Riviera Nayarit), which achieved a little under 4 million impressions on social media.

A press trip was held at the same time, which generated positive mentions and brand exposure with a younger market without neglecting the general vacation market.

The Excelsior, with an audience of 270 thousand people, Open magazine with 150 thousand readers and El Economista with 100 thousand were among the high-circulation traditional media that included mentions of the destination; this, added to the exposure garnered on the social media for each of the participating media as well as that of the brands themselves, generated impressive numbers.

Estilo DF, a free lifestyle and tourism weekly, which offered half a million impressions, plus iSOPixel, a tech, music and lifestyle blog with over 600 thousand impressions, were two of the other media that offered the most exposure.

A total of 75 publications ran the campaign over the first three months, which has definitely multiplied the initial investment, as the ROI currently hovers around $2.5 million Mexican pesos.

The reach obtained also benefits the businesses that sponsored the FAM trip. The CVB would like to thank Vallarta Adventures and Eva Mandarina for their cooperation. As is customary, the visitors toured some of the Riviera Nayarit’s Capitals including the hippie chic town of Sayulita; La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and its Marina Riviera Nayarit; plus the Nuevo Vallarta Fraccionamiento Náutico Turístico Residencial residential area.

Southwest Airlines announced via a press release last December 11th their application with the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting approval for flights from Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport to the Vallarta-Nayarit International Airport.

“Service to Mexico will be the cornerstone of our international operation at Hobby; the four cities we are announcing today (December 11th) provide exciting travel and business options for consumers,” stated Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman, President and CEO.

Southwest Airlines’ request intends for service to commence in October 2015. There are three additional destinations in Mexico included in the request besides the Vallarta-Nayarit region, as well as Belize and Costa Rica.

“These flights are practically a done deal,” said Marc Murphy, Managing Director of the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Thanks to the work done by the Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit joint campaign we are seeing a recovery in flights, seats and, consequently, in numbers of tourists to the region, all of which benefits everyone.”

Just a month ago this airline also announced flights from Santa Ana, California, to the Banderas Bay area beginning June 7, 2015. These results confirm the success of uniting the promotional efforts of Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit.

PayPal is working on a series of initiatives to help Latin Americans, particularly Brazilians, shop more abroad by overcoming high shipping costs, customs duties and fluctuating currency risks, Renato Pelissaro, marketing director for PayPal Latin America told BNamericas.

According to a recent PayPal study, 4% of Brazilians shop online exclusively abroad compared to 7% in Mexico.

The fact that most credit cards in Brazil are not authorized to make purchases outside the country is a major impediment.

To address that, PayPal and a local bank have developed an international prepaid card that can be used for making purchases abroad with PayPal.

The foreign exchange rate is locked at the time of purchase.

"That is much appreciated by consumers given the amount of currency appreciation and depreciation we've seen here in recent months," Pelissaro said.

Shipping related issues are also a concern, namely the time taken to receive the product and the additional cost of getting a product through customs, which in Brazil can be over 50% of the cost of the product.

"Buying clothes from China will be way cheaper than buying in Brazil but it can take three months to receive it because the Chinese will provide the cheapest option available," he said.

To address those issues PayPal is working with its parent company eBay - which it plans to spin off from next year - and others to set up a discount shipping program with a fixed fee allowing a given number of shipments within a 12 month period.

The company is also working with different merchants to put together packages of selected products with a discount shipping rate, exclusive for PayPal customers.

"In exchange for that we promote these merchants' products to our consumers. So it's a give and take relationship," Pelissaro said.

Dear Friends of Puerto Vallarta and Vallarta Shores

We still have some great choices available for the Christmas Holiday 

Book them now or they won't last ...

Gross fixed investment in Mexico rose 5.7 percent in September compared to the same month of 2013, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, or INEGI, said.

That increase was due to an 8.5 percent rise in spending on imported and domestically produced machinery and equipment and a 4.2 percent hike in construction spending, INEGI said in a statement Wednesday.

Gross fixed investment fell 0.43 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from August as a result of a 1.91 percent decrease in spending on machinery and equipment and a 0.32 percent rise in construction spending, the institute said.

For the January to September period, gross fixed investment climbed 1.1 percent compared to the first nine months of 2013, the result of a 0.5 percent decline in construction spending and a 3.7 percent increase in spending on machinery and construction.

The Mexican government is forecasting the nation's gross domestic product to expand by between 2.1 percent and 2.6 percent this year, up from 1.1 percent growth in 2013.

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/12/11/mexico-gross-fixed-investment-up-57-pct-in-september/"]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]

The better taste of Puerto Vallarta on Wheels!

Truckaburger is the American dream of two lovers of Gourmet Food.

"Our passion for food lies in the diversity of flavors that food offers to meet the pleasure of tasting a delicious variety of food. So we decided to launch Truckaburger to share our versions of some recipes that we like, mainly American Sandwich recipes."

The Gourmet Hamburger is 100% Prime beef with cheese and bacon. Extras include egg, caramelized onion, bleu cheese, pastrami or mushrooms. You'll want to sample the Chicago Chilidog, the Kansas Pulled Pork Sandwich, the Beverly Fig Sandwich, the Italian Meatball Sandwich, and more with additional choices appearing frequently.

Accompany your meal with Chili Cheese Fries, Shakes, a Cherry Coke Float or Vanilla Root Beer Float. How about a Nutella Banana Cookie Pie for dessert?

The Truckaburger is a classic 1985 Chevy with a state-of-the-art stainless steel kitchen.

You will find the Truckaburger just outside Marina Vallarta on Blvd. Francisco Medina Ascencio km 7.5 - Plaza Neptuno in the Punta Iguana commercial strip.

Hours are Monday - Friday from 11:00 am until 11:00 pm. Weekend hours are 10:45 am until 5:00 pm.

Contact information for Truckaburger by email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., telephone is (322) 209-1290 or visit Truckaburger online. Ask them about catering.

Great quality food at a reasonable price. Foodtrucks are the coolest thing!

[readon1 url="http://pvangels.com/news/3073/truckaburger-the-first-all-american-gourmet-foodtruck-in-puerto-vallarta"]Source:pvangels.com[/readon1]

Warren Buffett is perhaps the greatest investor of all time, and he has a simple solution that could help an individual turn $40 into $10 million.

A few years ago, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett spoke about one of his favorite companies, Coca-Cola, and how after dividends, stock splits, and patient reinvestment, someone who bought just $40 worth of the company's stock when it went public in 1919 would now have more than $5 million.

Yet in April 2012, when the board of directors proposed a stock split of the beloved soft-drink manufacturer, that figure was updated and the company noted that original $40 would now be worth $9.8 million. A little back-of-the-envelope math of the total return of Coke since May 2012 would mean that $9.8 million is now worth about $10.8 million.

The power of patience

I know that $40 in 1919 is very different from $40 today. However, even after factoring for inflation, it turns out to be $540 in today's money. Put differently, would you rather have an Xbox One, or almost $11 million?

But the thing is, it isn't even as though an investment in Coca-Cola was a no-brainer at that point, or in the near century since then. Sugar prices were rising. World War I had just ended a year prior. The Great Depression happened a few years later. World War II resulted in sugar rationing. And there have been countless other things over the past 100 years that would cause someone to question whether their money should be in stocks, much less one of a consumer-goods company like Coca-Cola.

The dangers of timing

Yet as Buffett has noted continually, it's terribly dangerous to attempt to time the market:

"With a wonderful business, you can figure out what will happen; you can't figure out when it will happen. You don't want to focus on when, you want to focus on what. If you're right about what, you don't have to worry about when"
So often investors are told they must attempt to time the market, and begin investing when the market is on the rise, and sell when the market is falling.

This type of technical analysis of watching stock movements and buying based on how the prices fluctuate over 200-day moving averages or other seemingly arbitrary fluctuations often receives a lot of media attention, but it has been proved to simply be no better than random chance.

Investing for the long term

Individuals need to see that investing is not like placing a wager on the 49ers to cover the spread against the Cowboys, but instead it's buying a tangible piece of a business.

It is absolutely important to understand the relative price you are paying for that business, but what isn't important is attempting to understand whether you're buying in at the "right time," as that is so often just an arbitrary imagination.

In Buffett's own words, "if you're right about the business, you'll make a lot of money," so don't bother about attempting to buy stocks based on how their stock charts have looked over the past 200 days. Instead always remember that "it's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price."

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[readon1 url="http://www.fool.com/ecap/the_motley_fool/homerun-warren-buffett-tells-you-how-to-turn-40-2/?utm_source=adblade;utm_medium=contentmarketing;utm_campaign=advertorial_ss;paid=8482;psource=esabld7410860002;waid=8481;wsource=esabldwdg0860003"]Source:www.fool.com[/readon1]

With relatively low online travel penetration and a population of more than 120 million, Mexico is a market of great untapped promise. According to a new Phocuswright Global Edition report, the country had the world's 13th largest travel market in 2013. Mexican airports transported over 55 million passengers in 20131, and despite concerns about personal safety related to inter-gang violence, international arrivals jumped 10% between 1H13 and 1H14.

On the heels of an economic upswing, Mexico's middle class will drive domestic demand for both leisure and business travel in the coming years.

Totaling US$24.3 billion in gross bookings, the Mexican travel market was Latin America's second largest in 2013. According to Phocuswright's Latin America Online Travel Overview Second Edition, growth projections suggest that it could overtake Brazil for first place within the next decade, particularly if economic conditions improve and online travel agencies (OTAs) continue to make headway with Mexican consumers. Because traditional channels hold sway, online penetration is low – more than 80% of leisure travel is booked offline. But some OTAs are now partnering with local travel agencies in hopes of tapping into Mexico's huge offline market.

"Hotel bookings in 2013 surpassed Germany, the U.K., and Spain," says Phocuswright's director, research, Luke Bujarski. "Traditional travel agents still capture a large share of the leisure market, but the pendulum is swinging toward direct and online bookings. This will create opportunities for online travel agencies with local market knowledge and technical know-how, as well as for web-savvy suppliers in tune with the latest channel management and digital marketing applications."

Phocuswright's Latin America Online Travel Overview Second Edition presents market sizing and projections for Latin America's online leisure and unmanaged business travel market from 2012 – 2016. The report features rich analysis of the Latin American travel market, with coverage of online versus offline bookings, bookings by travel segment, supplier-direct versus intermediary bookings and more.

Highlights include:

Purchase Phocuswright's Latin America Online Travel Overview Second Edition today to gain the information and insight you need to make informed decisions about the region’s dynamic travel market.

[readon1 url="http://www.phocuswright.com/research_updates/mexico-poised-to-become-latin-americas-largest-travel-market"]Source:www.phocuswright.com[/readon1]

This effort was completed by the OVC Riviera Nayarit in the XX International Gourmet Festival and diffusion is expect over a million impacts as a result of this public relations activity.

To get the big event representing the International Gourmet Festival (IGF) in the region, for its twentieth edition this Convention and Visitors Bureau of Riviera Nayarit (OVC), invited media from different countries to a familiarization tour parallel to event.

Journalists from Brazil, Colombia and Canada, who work in specialized areas of gastronomy, luxury and tourism essentially had the opportunity to be part of the event that The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, conducted as part of the FGI, called "Tastes of Punta Mita ".

"Sabores de Punta Mita was a great night of celebration that brought together all those who settle the fate of Punta Mita (hotels, developer, restaurants, chefs, suppliers, residents, guests and employees) with a common goal: begin a new season, "said the general manager of St. Regis, Carl Emberson.

In Brazil there were three media widely reported. Elite Magazine is a magazine with 22 years in the market, also comes to America and Europe, its pages manage to reach 180,000 readers. Their website has more than 480,000 monthly unique visitors.

The magazines also Brasileiras Mensch and Prazeres da Mesa, together reach a circulation of more than 250,000 readers. In Colombia participated magazines Casa Viva Kitchen and Food Magazine, whose impacts Rock 100 000, however, is a very accurate for the most special "foodies" segment.

Canada was included Alison Kent freelance journalist who writes for The Star, Travel Mind Set and Kitchen Daily.

In addition to its participation in the IGF, were also taken to other communities in Riviera Nayarit to provide more content and get more publications in their respective media.

With these public relations OVC Riviera Nayarit, states that the information reaches the captives and potential markets, emerging, continuing to promote the destination for the benefit of the region.