Riviera Nayarit Celebrates First Year Anniversary With Impressive Record Of Achievement
travelvideo.tv
Jul 18, 2008 | 9:39 am

RIVIERA NAYARIT, Mexico - On its first anniversary as Mexico's newest official travel and tourism destination, Riviera Nayarit is celebrating a record of impressive achievement in the development of new facilities, infrastructure, travel packages and tours, and world class hotels and resorts. Even as they look forward to continued growth, Nayarit officials expressed pleasure and satisfaction with recent public/private initiatives and accomplishments.

"In just a year, Riviera Nayarit has begun to establish itself internationally as one of Mexico's newest and most in-demand destinations. We have become a popular year-round tourism destination demonstrated by the high average occupancies our hotels and resorts enjoy," said Marc Murphy, director of the Riviera Nayarit Convention & Visitors Bureau. "This is the result of major investment by government but also because of a remarkable joint effort by the public and the private sectors, including world-class international brands, to commit to this exceptionally beautiful and unspoiled region on the Pacific Coast. We are not going to rest on our laurels though and we look forward to improving our products and creating new creative programs to attract travelers to Riviera Nayarit."

Riviera Nayarit is the New "Hot" Spot - Achievements & New Developments
Nayarit enters into its second year as the fourth highest tourism destination in Mexico in capturing investment, including a 12.5 percent increase in 2007. Over $350 million was committed to 35 projects spread across several areas, including Bahia de Banderas, Nuevo Vallarta, Punta Mita, Litibu and Flamingos. Almost three-quarters of the investment is from interests in Mexico and 10 percent from American companies.

Since 2005, the Mexican government has invested $1.5 billion in tourism facilities and infrastructure in the destination, including a major new highway system under construction. While the majority of hotel development in Nayarit is by Spanish brands, high-level American brands currently in the market or planned for the future include: St. Regis, Four Seasons, Hyatt and Capella.

New properties and facilities that have opened since the brand was announced last year include:

* 400-slip luxury marina in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle
* Hotel des Artistes and Café des Artistes del Mar in Punta de Mita
* Villa La Estancia in Flamingos
* Hotel Riu Pacifico in Nuevo Vallarta

Beyond investment in new facilities and infrastructure, Nayarit has enhanced the tourism experience with several new high-profile events. These include an Americas Cup Sailing Tour, Riviera Nayarit fishing and surfing tournaments, the 14th International Gourmet Festival: Puerto Vallarta & Riviera Nayarit (formerly the Puerto Vallarta Gourmet Festival but expanded to incorporate Riviera Nayarit), international sailing events and a Festival of Migratory Birds in the eco-region of San Blas.

Meanwhile, the CVB has been busy educating the international travel industry and helping to develop new packages and programs. An extensive travel trade outreach program featured seminars, trade shows and familiarization trips for travel agents and tour operators. The Riviera Nayarit website has been substantially updated and new brochures, a photo library, video collection and destination logo have been developed. According to Murphy, these efforts have been positively received and are generating results

Awards & Accolades for Riviera Nayarit

Clearly, Riviera Nayarit's public/private partnership is working. For the third year in a row, Nuevo Vallarta ranked number one for hotel occupancy rates in Mexico, almost 15 percentage points above the national average. Rincon de Guayabitos, one of the destination's charming villages, ranked number two nationally in terms of the rise in hotel occupancy rates.

The 2008 AAA Travel Guide awarded its coveted Five-Diamond Award to two resorts in the area - the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita and the Grand Velas All Suites & Spa Resort - and the Four-Diamond Award to three others - the Grand Mayan, the Vallarta Palace, and Casa Las Brisas. Three Nayarit restaurants also earned the Four-Diamond designation.

As further proof of Nayarit's newfound popularity, in the first quarter of 2008, international arrivals were soaring, based on nearby Puerto Vallarta International Airport figures showing 900,000 arrivals, an increase of more than 30,000 passengers on scheduled service over the same period in 2007. Officials attribute the growth to success in securing air service from such U.S. cities as Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Newark, Portland and Salt Lake City as well as Canadian gateways. Charter flights have also increased, by 32 per week in February 2008 alone.

What the Future Holds for Riviera Nayarit

Looking ahead, momentum is rising for the development and enhancement of Riviera Nayarit's tourism experience. As the new highway system continues to be built, there will be openings of the St. Regis Punta Mita, the Riu Palace Pacifico, Dreams Villa Magna and the new Playa del Sol Spa within the next 12 months. A second Jack Nicklaus course in Punta Mita and a Greg Norman course in Litibu will enhance the world-class golf experience.

Further down the road, the Litibu resort development will feature three Iberostar resorts, Secrets, La Tranquila and Fiesta Americana properties as well as another golf course. Higera Blanca will be a boutique hotel just north of Litibu. By 2011, Punta Raza will offer three new luxury properties - a Grand Hyatt, a Park Hyatt and the Elysian. New condo resorts will include Marival, Taheima and the second and third stages of the Marina Riviera Nayarit development. In addition to a new luxury Capella resort in Destiladeras, the region's next major resort development will be El Capomo.

About Riviera Nayarit

Riviera Nayarit is Mexico's newest travel destination stretching along 100 miles of pristine Pacific coast framed by spectacular mountains to the north of renowned Puerto Vallarta. Mostly undeveloped, the destination extends from the resorts of Nuevo Vallarta to the historic, colonial town of San Blas, including exclusive Punta Mita and the spectacular Banderas Bay. The region features luxury resorts and eco-tourism boutique hotels, world-renowned surfing, four professional golf courses, rare native wildlife including sea turtles and tropical birds, mountain and island adventures, shopping for local artwork and traditional Huichol handicrafts, charming fishing towns and miles of serene beaches.