Mexico to Develop "Magical Villages" to Improve Tourism

Mexico is planning on turning 35 of it's towns into Pueblos Magicos, or Magical Villages, in hopes of improving tourism for the country.

They won't be dissappearing villages, or anything like that. The country is investing $150 million into transforming these villages, whic will include renovating museums and galleries, and restoring convents and churches with historical value, and hopefully give each village it's own identifiable personality.

Some of the picturesque locations include Real de Catorce, Delores Hidalgo, Taxco, and San Cristobal de las Casas.

To get started booking your next vacation to Mexico, or anywhere else, contact a Professional Travel Agent today!

Some of Mexico's Beaches are Being Restored

In an effort to preserve Mexico’s Caribbean coastline, Cancun, the Riviera Maya and Cozumel are having their beachfronts restored in time for the winter vacation period this year. The plan will add sand to an 11-mile stretch of beachfront, helping the area guard against erosion for the next 10 years.

In five months, the dredging company that presented the winning bid, Mexicana de Dragados, plans to extract nearly 247 million cubic feet of sand from underwater and use it to widen the beachfront. When the project is finished, Cancun’s beaches will be 44 yards wide, Playa del Carmen’s 33 yards wide and Cozumel’s 22 yards wide.

The project is supported by the Quintana Roo State Government and Tourism Secretariat, Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (SEMARNAT) and Mexico’s Federal Electrical Commission, by a 900-million-peso (68-million-dollar) trust with federal, state and municipal (Riviera Maya, Cancún and Cozumel) government funds.

Mexico Assures Safety at Tourist Destinations

The Mexican Tourism Board and its affiliates are advising the travel agent community and their clients that vacations will not be harmed by the current problems related to the drug trade.

"The violence occurring in Mexico is concentrated in five municipalities in the Northwest side of Mexico and is far removed from resort areas," said the Board. There have been no reports of tourists affected by the violence which is predominately located along the US-Mexico border.

The Tourism Board has a new web site to keep agents updated about the situation and it is found at www.mexico-update.com The map on the site underlines the distance from the affected areas to resort areas.