Hi everyone! Our newsletter for August was just released. You can view the newsletter online as well.
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo on New 500 Peso Bill
Two of Mexico’s most treasured artists, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo have been joined the ranks of an Aztec lord, a military general, and cherished poet/nun, a hero of the Mexican war for Independence, and a revolutionary hero as the newest faces on Mexican currency. The portraits of these two artists are now featured on the new 500 Peso Bill.
Can you name the historical Mexican figures alluded to above and on which bill they appear? Post answers in the comments!
JM Director of Ops Returns from Scouting Trip
Video Below
Journey Mexico Director of Operations, Matteo Luthi, was recently on a two-week trip with his family in Southern Mexico scouting areas of Chiapas, Campeche, and Yucatan in order to develop some new family oriented trips to the region. He came back with some great stories, even better photos, and a lot of incredible insights that we are eager to share with our clients. Here’s what Matteo had to say about his trip:
“Normally I do these kind of trips on my own, but this time I decided to bring my family along since the idea was to see how family friendly these areas are. I was really impressed by the amount of family activities we go to enjoy. We had a blast! It’s very difficult to recount the highlights since every single day was amazing but if I had to chose some days in particular, I would say swimming in the electric blue Lakes of Montebello, our visit to the Church in San Juan Cholula with the shamans, and visiting all of the archeological sites were the stand out experiences. Especially Calakmul where we climbed to the top of the largest Mayan pyramid built in Mexico. It was such a rare opportunity to have an that incredible view over the immense forest that is recognized by the UNESCO as the second largest biosphere of the World just behind the Amazonas. Again, the entire trip was fantastic and having my family there and seeing how much they enjoyed it was just unforgettable.”
Below is a video of some of the trip’s highlights narrated by Matteo (It was raining really hard when we recorded the voice over – sorry!). For more information about traveling to any of the places in the video, contact Journey Mexico today!
Mexico Tourism Continues to Push Forward
The Mexican Tourism Board continues to push forward with their efforts to increase tourism to Mexico by adding both a new Executive to their staff and a new international tourism fair in Mexico City.
After resigning from his position as General Director of the Riviera Maya Destination Marketing Office, Javier Aranda has accepted the position of Executive Director of Destinations and Partners at the Mexican Tourism Board. Journey Mexico is excited to see what Aranda will add to the great campaign that Gloria Guevara, the new Minister of Tourism, has started.
At the recommendation of the World Travel Organization, the Mexico Tourism Board has organized an international travel fair, called the International Tourism Fair of the Americas (FITA), which is scheduled for Sept. 23-26 at Mexico City’s Expo Bancomer convention center.
With FITA, Mexico City hopes to exceed the scope of Acapulco’s Tianguis fair, which has been Mexico’s premier travel fair for 37 years. FITA is planned to be an annual event and is expecting 40,000 attendees this year, but the fair seems to be getting a hesitant reaction from the US market as companies are finding it difficult to budget for another Mexican fair in this troubled economy.
How does your company feel about the new travel fair? Will you be attending? Let us know in the comments!
Journey Mexico a Member of Departures Magazine Luxury Advisory Board
Journey Mexico president, Zachary Rabinor, is a member of Departures Magazine’s Luxury Advisory Board. The Luxury Advisory Board provides Departures with key insights and information on style, real estate, culture, dining, travel and much more.
For more information about luxury travel advising and luxury travel planning in Mexico, you can contact Zach at [email protected]
Aerial Photography of Mexico City
I came across some amazing aerial photographs of Mexico City and it’s surrounding areas the other day. The photographer’s website isn’t very informative but from what I gather, the photographer is a helicopter pilot whose hobby is photographing interesting scenes from above. If you click on the little speech bubble icon on the lower left hand side of the slideshow, you can turn the captions on, or you can view captions explaining each photo at Journey Mexico’s Picasa Page.
All photos via http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PhotoAlbum31.html
Journey Mexico Number 13 on Inc 5000 List
For the second year in a row, Journey Mexico made Inc. Magazine‘s Inc 5000 list. In Spite of the Swine Flu scare, a struggling economy, and the unrelenting media coverage of violence in Mexico, Journey Mexico has achieved a three-year growth rate of 77% and is ranked number 13 in the Travel Industry on the 2010 Inc 5000 list.
The 2010 Inc. 500 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2006 to 2009. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by June 30, 2006. Additionally, they had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2009. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2006 is $80,000; the minimum for 2009 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. The companies of the Inc. 500 represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at www.inc.com/500.
JM Bids Farewell to our Summer Intern Monica
Journey Mexico was fortunate to have a great intern, Monica Marchak, working in our Puerto Vallarta office this summer. Monica currently attends Western Washington University and has been living with her aunt and uncle here in Vallarta for the summer. In addition to interning at Journey Mexico, Monica has also been studying Spanish at her aunt’s school, The Spanish Experience Center.
Monica quickly adapted to her new environment, and some of her work can be seen in many of our new trip pages as well as our new villa and hotel profile pages.
Although her internship is finished, Monica’s summer is far from over. From Mexico, Monica will be traveling to New York and then to Bordeaux, France. From all of us at the Journey Mexico, happy travels and thanks for a great summer Monica!
Journey Mexico Villa and Hotel Visits
Journey Mexico at Garza Blanca
Journey Mexico has been busy expanding our website it include partner villa, hotel, and yacht profiles (It’s still a work-in-progress, but you can view several locations that have already been entered by clicking on the View Villa Profiles button on our Experiences > Villas page.)
Over the past two weeks, several members of the Journey Mexican team have been visiting newly added partner locations here in Puerto Vallarta. Last Friday, we took a full tour of the gorgeous Garza Blanca Preserve, Resort, and Spa and had a wonderful lunch in the hotel’s restaurant Blanca Blue. Resort general manager, Miguel Andres Hernandez, was kind enough to dine with us as well as give us a tour of Garza Blanca’s award winning wine selection.
Yesterday, Vanessa Cole and Shannon Beston of Journey Mexico partner Vacation Villas of Mexico led us on a tour of several beautiful villas in downtown Vallarta. We have to give special thanks to Raquel Brooks of Casa Tabachin and Yvonne Kalman of Casa Yvonneka for welcoming us into their lovely properties and for the delicious hors d’oeuvres, lunch, and conversation. Check back shortly to view profile pages with photos and videos of both Casa Tabachin and Casa Yvonneka!
Mexico’s New Minister of Tourism – The New Woman in Charge
JM President, Zachary Rabinor, with Minister of Tourism, Gloria Guevara
Mexico’s new Minister of Tourism, Gloria Guevara, was not looking for a public office, it came looking for her! A high powered executive for arguably one of the most influential companies in the travel industry, Sabre Travel Solutions, Ms. Guevara was hard at work connecting buyers and sellers of travel when she got the call from the President of Mexico and was wooed away from the private sector to a patriotic role for the future of her country. Since her first day in office, Guevara has shown that she is a mover and that her plans for Mexico’s tourism industry will re-shape the way that Mexico is viewed as a destination in the world.
Since taking office, Guevara has secured a $35 million budget for a media campaign to shed new light on Mexico as a prime destination for cultural tourism. The theme of the campaign is “Mexico: The Place You Thought You Knew,” and the ads (view below) are intended to reach 50% of North Americans. She and her team have also outlined ten culturally significant routes of travel called the “Rutas de Mexico,” which feature many of Mexico’s 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Guevara holds a master’s degrees in Marketing from the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City and Business Administration from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Her career in the travel industry began in customer service and sales at Sabre where she steadily worked her way to the top of the company as she eventually held the position of chief information officer for parent company Sabre Holdings.
We at Journey Mexico are thrilled to have a like-minded, business savvy advocate in this important role and can’t wait to see what other new and creative ideas the Mexico Tourism Board launches under her watch.
Ancient Tunnel Found Under Mexican Pyramid
Teotihuacan
Fans of archeological travel will be excited to learn that scientists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have recently located an ancient tunnel that leads to several sealed chambers below the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan in Mexico City.
These chambers are located approximately 12 meters below the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and were sealed 1,800 years ago by the inhabitants of Teotihuacan themselves. Archeologists believe (and hope) the chambers contain the tombs of the ancient rulers of Teotihuacan, sacred sites that archeologists have not yet been able to locate.
Scientists working on the site hope to excavate the tunnel under the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and breech its underlying chambers within the next three months. More information about these developments can be found at eTurboNews.
Teotihuacan has long been a staple of Journey Mexico trips to Mexico City, and this recent development in the mystery of what lies beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent is just the latest example of how Mexico continues to offer opportunities to literally discover fresh pieces of history. To plan a trip to Mexico to see these ancient wonders with your own eyes, contact Journey Mexico today!
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Mexico Awarded Two New UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Mexico was recently awarded two new UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro and Prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca.
The addition of these two cultural sites gives Mexico 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in total, putting Mexico even further ahead of all other Latin American countries.
The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, also known as The Silver Route, was an important trade route running north out of Mexico City, through the Colonial Heartland, and across the Copper Canyon region and into the US. From the 16th to the 19th century, this route was used to transport valuable loads of silver from the mines of Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and San Luis Potosí to the US. The route is also significant because it opened communication between Mexican cultures and the native American cultures of what is now Texas and New Mexico.
The prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla in Oaxaca are incredibly important as they contain rock art depicting the evolution of the pre-historic man from nomadic hunter-gathers to skilled, communal farmers. Seeds found one of these caves dates back to 8000 B.C. and is considered to be the earliest known evidence of domesticated plants on the continent of North America.
For more information about visiting these UNESCO World Heritage Sites, contact Journey Mexico today!
4 Reasons to Vacation in Mexico Right Now!
Didn’t have a chance to get away this Summer? Don’t worry, here are four reasons to vacation in Mexico before the year’s end.
1. Value-Added – As Laura Del Rosso points out in her Travel Weekly article, increased competition in resort areas have many resorts offering incredible, and often unbelievable, value-ads to vacation packages.
Ceiba del Mar on the Riviera Maya is offering unlimited spa treatments including facials, massages, and more with their three-night, Unlimited Spa Package. This Mexican vacation package is priced at $1,680 for two people, including accommodations, and runs through December 22nd. Contact one of our travel planners to take advantage of this vacation package today!
2. Less Crowds – The busy season for travel to Mexico begins in Nov/Dec, so booking a vacation before then usually yields exceptional opportunities to view Mayan Pyramids and other archeological sites with little or no crowds. Gazing at something spectacular like the pyramid at Chichen Itza in relative silence with no one but your family and friends adds an indescribable element to the experience.
3. Mexico’s Bicentennial – September 16th mark’s the Bicentennial of Mexico’s Independence. What is always a season of celebration will undoubtedly reach historic proportions this year, and there’s no better place to celebrate the Bicentennial than Mexico’s Colonial Heartland. Plan your vacation to Mexico now and come join in the festivities!
4. A New Wave – A movement of modern, retro, chic, and artistic boutique hotels has begun in Mexico. If you would love to vacation in Mexico but want to try something different and new, building a trip around these locations is an excellent way to add a modern twist to an unforgettable trip. The photos below say it all.
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You can find 10 more reasons to vacation in Mexico here.
Journey Mexico July Newsletter
Travelocity’s Battle of the Destinations
Travelocity has been running a weekly competition between popular destinations to vacation in Mexico called “Battle of the Destinations.” Travelocity’s Gnome travels to each of the winning destinations and then posts photos at the end of the week.
The first competition was between Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, and the Riviera Maya with the Riviera Maya taking the win.
The second week put Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City against each other with Monterrey coming out on top.
Week three was a slaughter as Mazatlan dominated Ixtapa, Acapulco, and Cancun.
This week’s battle was another landslide as Oaxaca triumphed over Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and Puebla.
The Battle of the Destinations website is in Spanish, but it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s going on even if you don’t understand the language. The site isn’t very clear, however, about how long these competitions will last. Maybe someone could clarify in the comments of this post. If the winners do eventually face off, you should see much closer results but after taking the 8th spot on Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best cities list, I’d say the culturally rich Oaxaca is the city to beat.
Journey Mexico on The Mexico Report
Susie Albin-Najera recently wrote an excellent article titled “A Transformational Journey Through Mexico: Experiencing The Trip of a Lifetime,” which has been published on The Mexico Report.
The article takes a look at the history of Journey Mexico and also includes an interview with JM Founder and President Zachary Rabinor.
A big thanks to Susie from all of us at Journey Mexico for doing such a great job on the piece!
Time to Plan for the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival
The Riviera Maya Jazz Festival celebrates it’s 8th season this November after drawing more than 50,000 visitors last year. In preparation for this year’s Jazz Festival, the Riviera Maya is offering a special preview event on September 4th in Tulum. The free concert includes internationally famed artists Eddie Palmieri, India, and Araya – Orta Latin Jazz Quartet. To plan a trip to for this event, be sure to contact one of our expert planners today!
This year’s Riviera Maya Jazz Festival will be held from November 25th-28th. More information about the event and artists, visit The Riviera Maya Jazz Festival 2010.
Underwater Sculpture Park in Cancun
Photo via Jason deCaires Taylor
Artist and environmentalist, Jason deCaires Taylor, has entered the final stages of an incredible project designed to alleviate pressure on the natural reefs of Cancun, Mexico by attracting both marine wildlife and human tourists to a currently barren area of sea-floor, which will soon become a natural reef of cement sculptures.
In early 2011, over 400 sculptures made from a special cement neutral in PH and made to foster coral growth will be lowered into the shallow waters off the coast of Cancun. A handful of test sculptures have already been submerged and have shown incredible rates of growth from colorful algae, coral, and other marine-life.
Below is a video interview from Travel + Life Magazine with Taylor about the project. For more information about the underwater sculpture park, visit Jason deCaires Taylor’s website and the Wandering Educators site. You can also find another video here.
CHOOSE A DESTINATION
