FOLLOWING ON
THE HEELS of its successful Riviera Maya blog, (http://rivieramayaupdate.blogspot.com), Funjet
Vacations has launched a blog for updates on post-Wilma Cancun and
Cozumel. The blog, located at http://mexicoupdates.blogspot.com, features interviews with locals, photos and video of hotels
and tourism attractions in the two destinations. The blog offers a
new online community for enthusiasts of the destinations to add
their comments.
COZUMEL, meanwhile, emphasized its
post-Wilma recovery by scoring the Mexico Underwater Dive Show, a
major trade show for the scuba-diving market that will be held at
the Cozumel Convention Center June 1 to 3. More than 35 Mexican
destinations representing the countrys 6,000 miles of coastline are
scheduled to participate in the event, which is geared to scuba
divers, equipment manufacturers and wholesalers and travel agents
who sell the lucrative market. The event will include product
expositions, seminars, new equipment demonstrations and an
underwater film festival, among other things.
AEROMEXICO doubled its nonstop service from
San Diego to Mexico City. The airline began operating four nonstop
flights a week between the two cities on Jan. 12 while continuing
to offer daily service from San Diego to Mexico City after a stop
in Los Cabos. Nonstop San Diego-Mexico City flights operate on
Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing San Diego at
5:15 p.m. and arriving in Mexico City at 10:35 p.m. Return flights
depart Mexico City at 7 a.m. and arrive in San Diego at 8:40
a.m.
CANYON
TRAVEL, the Bulverde, Texas-based operator of train trips
in the Copper Canyon, has acquired a 1950s Pullman rail car with a
20-foot open deck that the company plans to market as a private
railcar for group charters of 12 to 20 customers. The
air-conditioned rail car is attached to the rear of the Chihuahua
Pacific train that climbs 8,000 feet into the Western Sierra Madre
mountains and skirts the Copper Canyon. Canyon Travel offers a
number of train departures this year starting at $999 per person,
including accommodations in private lodges. For information or
reservations, call (830) 885-2000 or visit www.canyontravel.com/trains.htm.
PATRICK-DENIS
FINET was named general manager of the Mandarin Oriental
Riviera Maya, the upscale 128-villa resort scheduled to open in the
fall. Finet was general manager of the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya will include a
25,000-square-foot spa, several gourmet restaurants and two nearby
18-hole golf courses.