The most recent FAM trip to the destination included seven of Brazil’s top media specializing in luxury audiences with high purchasing power; together they will garner an estimated 11.5 million impressions.

It is expected that a total of 116 cruises will arrive this year  to Puerto Vallarta Cruise Marina, which represents a 43% increase over the 81 arrivals we received in 2013.

The Ventika Wind Project consists of two 126MW wind projects, creating a total capacity of 252 MW and making it the largest wind project in Mexico. AWS Truepower has assisted the project by providing lender support with a total value of $650 million, secured by co-developers CEMEX and Fisterra Energy.

The company has acted as the energy consultant and engineer in the debt financing for the project and is currently providing construction monitoring on behalf of the lenders and project sponsors through to substantial completion of the projects, expected in the second quarter of 2016. The projects incorporate 84 Acciona AW 3000 wind turbines and will play a vital part in achieving Mexico’s goal of 35 percent total energy generation from renewable sources and reducing CO2 emissions.

“The Ventika I and II projects are a major advancement in the development of wind energy in Mexico and Latin America, and also are a great example of the growing momentum of wind projects globally” said Joan Aymamí, Vice President, Latin America at AWS Truepower.

Craig Moller, Director of Due Diligence Services at AWS, added that the company is committed to supporting renewable energy growth in Latin America and therefore will continue to invest in Mexico and other countries in the region that are equally as committed to reducing carbon emissions and providing a sustainable source of energy for their country.

The energy generated by the Ventika projects will go to facilities belonging to FEMSA, DEACERO, Tecnológico de Monterrey and CEMEX under an approved self-supply scheme. The majority interest of the project was acquired from a subsidiary of CEMEX. Of the $650 million invested, 75 percent corresponds to debt and 25 percent to equity and the total joint commitment from Lenders is in excess of US$480 million. Fisterra (a subsidiary of Blackstone Energy Partners), CEMEX, and private investors contributed $162 million to the project via equity contributions and shareholder loans. Construction began in the second quarter of 2014 and commercial operation is expected by the second quarter of 2016.

[readon1 url="http://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/article/aws-truepower-to-support-financing-of-the-20140904/"]Source:www.renewableenergymagazine.com[/readon1]

Puerto Vallarta’s hotel infrastructure is one of the most popular in Mexico, with almost 22,000 rooms, visitors have occupied almost 1.5 million rooms the first 6 months of 2014, but many do not know of the great diversity of properties that can be found in the destination, specifically its boutique and small hotels.

Providing visitors unique views on the world, architecture and sometimes even guardians of Puerto Vallarta’s history, the destination’s boutique and small hotels can be a reflection of a guest’s personality and enhance a Puerto Vallarta experience.

Perched on the hills of the Conchas Chinas zone, the Hacienda’s gloriously romantic guest suites offer sweeping views and respite from the bustle of downtown Puerto Vallarta. A wedding gift from Richard Burton to his wife Susan in 1977, it’s in one of the few properties still open that relate to Puerto Vallarta’s tourism spark – the filming of Night of the Iguana.

Those truly interested in becoming a local, a Pata Salada as real Puerto Vallarta people are called, the Hotel Rosita

is the best bet. Established in 1948, it is Puerto Vallarta’s oldest hotel. When it comes to location, it is situated at the beginning of Puerto Vallarta social scene center, el Malecon, feet away from the Naval Museum and the city’s original light house. Check out its murals to get a glimpse of Puerto Vallarta in the 1950s.

Those looking for a more modern and funky feeling will find that Puerto Vallarta’s artist community has found ways to express all types of artwork in its Zona Romantica hotels, Puerto Vallarta’s cobble-stone street zone is rich in Mexican architecture.

Vallarta Shores International

Vallarta Shores is a hotel-condominium located in front of Playa Los Muertos in Puerto Vallarta, just steps from the famous sculpture of the seahorse. The main area of the boardwalk is 2 miles from the hotel and the traditional Romantic Zone is just a few blocks away. The Marina of Puerto Vallarta, where cruise ships arrive, is 7.5 kilometers and the city's international airport (PVR), 10.5 miles away. Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta Shores has 10 apartments of one, two or three rooms including a penthouse. All are equipped with internet access, air conditioning, sitting area with sofa bed, fully equipped kitchen, washer and dryer, table and chairs, flat screen TV with cable or satellite and DVD player. Some also have a balcony or terrace overlooking the beach and the sea, and the penthouse with a private pool and chef service included. Vallarta Shores The hotel features an outdoor pool with ocean views, lounge chairs, a library and Parking. Additionally, the hotel offers a variety of services including currency exchange, wireless internet, luggage storage, airport transfers, laundry services and wedding arrangements. Puerto Vallarta hotel accepts pets weighing up to 15 kilos (restrictions apply).

Hotel Catedral embraces Mexico’s famed Rosa Mexicano pink and the rich colors of indigenous cultures of the country providing guests with a color-filed eye celebration.

In a similar fashion, Posada de Roger Hotel provides its guests with an hacienda setting complete with a fountained courtyard, exposed brick and flora.

The Sierra Madre Mountains that embrace Puerto Vallarta provide its surrounding towns eco-friendly properties in one-of-a-kind settings. Casa Pericos, in the town of Yelapa, can only be reached by boat and provides a perfectly secluded destination, perfect for a romantic weekend or a friends’ getaway. Seclusion is also key at the Hacienda Jalisco, a massive structure with two foot-thick walls built 225 years ago by the Spanish to hold and guard
the returns of the myriads of mines of San Sebastian.

Located in Punta Mita, Tuna Blanca by café des Artistes, with the exclusive and traditional concept of the brand that creates it, offers a diversity of flavors, textures, smells, and colors from Mexico in a fresh way, organic, grilled and by the ocean, without losing the gourmet touch of Chef Thierry Blouet.

Tuna Blanca with the style and essence of Café des Artistes, but with a Mexican menu and atmosphere, beach type, chic and romantic, that gets in to a fusion with the best products of the region, organic, cultivated by the hands of local producers and fishermen fresh sea food provided by the fisherman of the Anclote beach. There is no doubt, an obligated visit in Punta Mita the destination with more exclusivity in Mexico.

The arrival of international tourists increased by 21% during the first semester of 2014 compared to the same time period in 2013; the income to the destination also grew by 27%, as did occupation stats and room nights.

The tourism recovery in the Riviera Nayarit is well on its way and the numbers clearly show a positive increase, this according to the official statistics announced by the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).

The most relevant data was observed within the increase in both the arrival of international tourists and the income to the destination achieved during the first semester of 2014 when compared to the same time period last year.

From January through June 2014 there were 341,174 registered foreign visitors, 21% more than the 281,391 international visitors registered during the same period in 2013.

The benefits of increased international tourism are reflected directly in the income to the destination and the number of room nights, as international tourists’ stays are longer and their average expenditure is higher.

There were $1,091,789,547 dollars generated during the first semester of the current year, an economic gain of 27% over the same period in 2013. Room nights increased by 7% and general occupancy rates grew by 4.07%

Powerful actions on behalf of the R iviera Nayarit CVB

These results can be traced to a large extent back to the different activities performed by the four key departments of the Riviera Nayarit CVB: Public Relations, Marketing, Promotions and Groups.

The first semester of the current year saw 57 activities established by public relations, which handled 235 domestic and international media representatives, achieving over 550 million impressions; the marketing department carried out advertising campaigns with 50 commercial partners, creating 51 million impressions.

There were 27 promotional activities, during which over 4,000 domestic and international travel agent trainings and updates took place; the bureau has also collaborated with the organization of 39 events, conferences and conventions to attract over 20 thousand specific visitors.

The US web portal Latin Post, one of the leading sites for the Hispanic community, recently published a list of special recommendations for “must-go” places: the Riviera Nayarit was number two on that list.

The Latin Post, a web portal geared towards US-based Latinos, published a top ten list of ideal vacation spots for Latinos, positioning the Riviera Nayarit in second place along with Puerto Escondido; they were the only two destinations representing Mexico.

The article, published on August 21st, is now on a site that boasts 3.5 million unique visitors per month; the United States is a natural market for Mexico’s Pacific Treasure. In an interesting aside, the list encompasses destinations from around the world.

The Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has focused its efforts on the United States, making indirect results such as this a reflection of the “snowball effect” that continues to grow. The Latin Po st editorial was published at its own initiative; they included the Riviera Nayarit in the Top Ten list without any direct intervention from the destination.

According to the site, “Urban areas with large Hispanic populations tend to draw more Hispanic vacationers, compared to other destinations in the U.S. And when traveling abroad, Hispanics like to go where they have a semblance of kinship and relative roots.”

This website is followed in states with large populations of Latinos, such as New York, Nevada, California, Texas and Florida, where the Riviera Nayarit has undertaken several promotional activities.

According to the Latin Post, Latinos in the United States tend to travel in family groups of four or more people and spend an average of $7,000 during their travels. Seventy-five percent of the site’s followers are between the ages of 18 and 54 and sixty percent have a college degree.

The article focuses on the Hispanic Millennials, which includes those born during the 80s and 90s.

To read the article, click here:
Latin Post.

The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board's innovative US and Canada public relation's campaign, has generated over 12 millions US dollars in editorial coverage on Puerto Vallarta and its tourism offerings from January to June 2014, this is triple what the campaign did during the same period in 2013.

LATITUDE, the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board's PR agency for the US and Canada markets, has generated over 300 media clippings with an total impression of over 1.5 billion impressions, an increase of over 20% from 2013 for the time period.

The increase in this year's coverage is the result of an increase in media visits to the destination and new initiatives by the agency, including a travel bloggers press trip, an increment in advertorials and work with travel specialists to promote the destination in interviews. Visits to Puerto Vallarta by TV productions from Much Music and CNN as well as top magazines like Details and Latina Magazine also increased media presence of the destination.

Ignacio Cadena Beraud, President of the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board states that promotion towards the destination will carry on within the well-established North American market, South America, Europe and nationally.

For more information visit www.visitpuertovallarta.com/blog

The Brazilian Tour conducted by the joint Vallarta-Nayarit campaign ended successfully, generating plenty of interest among the Brazilian travel agents who also received comps as incentives; several tour operators already offer complete packages to sell the destinations. 

The first joint promotional tour to Brazil by the Riviera Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta convention and visitors bureaus concluded recently, resulting in the training of 300 Brazilian agents on the Vallarta-Nayarit campaign.

From August 18-21, the cities of Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro were treated to a trade show with hotels and operators, where the trav el agents with the best profile for selling Vallarta-Nayarit were informed about our destination’s products.

Both Diana Lorena Pomar, Director of the Mexico Tourism Bureau (MTB) in Brazil, and Aeromexico Airlines participated in the organization and development of this tour.

Flot, Visual Turismo, Agaxtur, MMT Gapnet, ADV Tours, New Age, Nascimento and Flytour were among the participating tour operators. They handed out flyers with pre-made packages to Vallarta-Nayarit, and it was noted they had all of the products ready for sale.

Representatives from the Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Decameron, AM Resorts, Velas Resorts, Belair, Marival Group, Sheraton, Barcelo, Canto del Sol, St Regis, Crown Paradise and Fiesta Americana were also present.

The response of the travel agents to these new offers was very positive; they were interested in the product and were very engaged during the training, which included a dynamic presentation with plenty of interaction with the agents, who asked questions about the different presentations.

Several very attractive shared stays were raffled among the agents, which included three nights in Puerto Vallarta and three more in the Riviera Nayarit; there were approximately four similar comps raffled per event. There was also a grand prize that included round-trip airfare on Aeroméxico.

It’s been only three months since the launch of the two direct flights from Manchester and London to the Vallarta-Nayarit International Airport and already British tourists make up 3% of the total of visitors to the Riviera Nayarit. 

The first numbers are in and according to the statistics rounded up during the daily surveys conducted by the research department of the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), the Brits have responded magnificently to recent events: they already make up a full 3% of the total of tourists that have visited the destination.

The launch of the two weekly direct flights from Manchester and London to the Vallarta-Nayarit International Airport through the wholesaler TUI and Thompson airlines was the trigger that began the snowball, as every flight has arrived full or near to capacity.

Previously, tourists to the Riviera Nayarit were divided among Mexicans, Canadians and Americans, with 1% made up of other nationalities. During the first semester of 2013, this translated into 67% from Mexico, 25% from the United States and 7% from Canada, with the remaining 1% visiting from the rest of the world.

By 2014, the same time period showed that now, thanks to these flights, the influx of British tourists has increased over that of other countries that lack the facilities to travel to this destination. The percentages changed accordingly: Mexican tourists made up 66% of the total, those from the US made up 20%, Canadians 9%, Britons 3% with 1% remaining for the rest of the countries around the world.

Taking into consideration the number of passengers the two direct flights can fly in from England there could be a total of 600 visitors per week; this means that approximately seven thousand Britons have visited the region in the last trimester alone.

It’s important to point out that each British visitor represents an extended stay and increased income for the region; due to the logistics of the flights they stay in the destination for at least a week, though the majority opt for two weeks and, in some cases, even three or four weeks.

On the other hand, according to the Riviera Nayarit CVB survey takers, there are already a growing number of Colombian and Brazilian tourists to the region; eventually there will be statistics to reflect the advances the joint promotions have made within the emerging markets reached by the Vallarta-Nayarit campaign.

The largest travel agency in Brazil, SubMarino Viagens and several Brazilian media representatives will be arriving via Aeroméxico Airlines on a FAM trip coordinated by the Riviera Nayarit CVB and the Brazilian office of the MTB.

Aeroméxico Airlines is currently taking the largest Brazilian OTA, SubMarino Viagens, as well as several members of the Brazilian communications media, on a short promotional tour through Mexico.

The Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) will coordinate their visit to Mexico’s Pacific Treasure from August 27-29, in order to give them the grand tour of the destination’s best attractions.

This activity is part of an arrangement by the Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) in Brazil; the tour includes Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta, among others.

The SubMarino Viagens OTA reports over 6 million monthly visits to its website, with over 30 page views per visit; 34% of its readers are 35 to 49 years old and 29% are between 25 and 34 years old.

The agency has over 2.3 million likes on its Facebook page and its Twitter account has over 124k followers; it also boasts over 29 million television subscribers on pay and satellite TV.

The five Brazilian communications media specializing in tourism and travel enjoying the FAM trip are: Brasil Travel News with a circulation of 40 thousand issues per month; the Revista Viajar Pelo Mundo with an equal circulation; MSN with 7 million unique monthly visitors and IG with 3.5 million unique monthly visitors.

The visitors will tour the Marietas Islands, one of the Riviera Maya’s iconic attractions; the “hippie chic” town of Sayulita, also known as the area’s Surf Capital; San Francisco, or San Pancho, called the Riviera’s Cultural Capital; and finally, La Cruz the Huanacaxtle, the Nautical Capital of the Riviera and its cutting-edge Marina Riviera Nayarit, the most modern marina in all of the Mexican Pacific.

A representative from Brazil’s second-largest web portal, www.r7.com, came to the Riviera Nayarit on a FAM trip sponsored by the CVB; she has already published the first of two pieces online that will be viewed by millions of Brazilians.

The public relations activities accomplished by the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau to expand the destination’s exposure in specific markets are targeted, effective, and meeting and exceeding goals.

Brazil is an emerging market and full of potential tourists to the Riviera Nayarit, so the recent FAM trip for Francine Costanti dos Santos, a journalist for www.r7.com, was right on the money, as her publications reach the entire country of Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries around the world.

The title of the article touting images of the enigmatic Marietas Islands states: “The Riviera Nayarit Charms With Its Vibrant Color And Natural Beauty.” The journalist introduces the destination to her countrymen saying: “The newest destination in Mexico attracts thanks to its crystal-clear beaches and luxury hotels.”

The article was posted on August 18th, and highlights the destination and its hotels; there is another in the works dedicated to the activities guests can enjoy while in Mexico’s Pacific Treasure. Francine’s trip was lengthy and filled with so many events that there’s a good chance she will publish more than the two she was currently assigned.

The investment made in the journalist’s trip was well worth the amount of impressions and views her articles will net for the destination.

The R7 website touts 47.1 million unique visitors per month, 77% of which belong to the A and B socioeconomic groups. R7’s Facebook account has nearly 8 million “likes;” on Twitter they have a little over 3 million followers and on Instagram another 30 thousand.

Last May, R7 published one of the releases sent out by the Brazilian PR agency handling the Riviera Nayarit CVBs account in that country. It was thanks to the extensive reach of this communication that the four continents where Portuguese is spoken were made aware of the destination.

This is the kind of ally the Riviera Nayarit is needs and is searching for in order to reach the markets it’s courting. This way, they can access as many people as possible while taking full advantage of the resources available.

To read the original pieces please click here: Entretenimento r7