Mazatlan is seeing a tourism boom
related to its colorful history.
In November, The Mazatlan Hotel Association and the State of
Sinaloa hosted the 13th Annual Gran Fiesta Amigos de Mazatlan,
honoring national and international travel partners. Mazatlan has
much to celebrate with its steadily rising visitation numbers over
the past four years. Since 2004, when the city’s occupancy rate was
at a mere 41 percent, it has consistently jumped an estimated 10
percent each year. The Hotel Association which credits an extensive
public relations and advertising program expected to close 2007 at
nearly 70 percent occupancy, making Mazatlan one of the top hot
spots for Mexico tourism.
Since 2002, the historic coastal city, originally founded in
1531, has undergone an extreme facelift. Tourism recently became
the top local industry, surpassing the longtime reign of the city’s
phenomenal fishing business. (Mazatlan is still recognized
internationally as the shrimp capital of the world, with a fleet of
over 2,000 boats.)
The four-day fiesta kicked off with a dinner catered by Los
Arcos Restaurant in Machado Square, the art and cultural hub of the
city, as well as the heart of the newly restored 180-block Historic
District. “In Mazatlan, what’s old is new,” said Javier Paez,
marketing and public relations manager of the Hotel
Association.
This district is home to the 130-year-old Angela Peralta
Theater, a renovated city treasure that hosts world-class
theatrical performances like “La Boheme.” Located in the plaza
itself are landmark restaurants like Pedro y Lola’s and El Tunel, a
family-run eatery since 1945.
Guestrooms Outside the Historic
District, there is plenty of sun
and sand to enjoy as well.
The next evening, another gala dinner was held at the The Inn at
Mazatlan, complete with fireworks and a 14-piece band playing the
region’s own brand of Latin music called “Banda” a cross between
polka music, brought here by the Germans during the Gold Rush, and
mariachi.
The Annual Deer Awards ceremony on the final night was held at
El Cid Marina Beach Hotel & Yacht Club, honoring airlines and
tour operators for their contributions to Mazatlan’s growing
popularity. Golden Deer Award recipients included Frontier
Airlines, which now has direct flights from Dallas/Ft. Worth
International Airport, opening up connections throughout the West
and Midwest, and tour operator Pleasant Holidays. Guests of the
fiesta were also treated to a variety of tour and excursion options
from Pronatours, including day trips to nearby picturesque pueblos
in the Sierra Madre mountains, such as El Quelite, La Noria, Cosala
and Copala.
With numbers continuing to rise, there will undoubtedly be more
to celebrate at the next Gran Fiesta Amigos.
www.gomazatlan.com
| WHERE TO STAY
There are three main areas to stay in Mazatlan: the Malecon
(Boardwalk), the Golden Zone and the Historic District.
The Malecon runs along the beach and features the Best Western
Posada Freeman Express, silver shops and plenty of nightclubs. The
Golden Zone (“Zona Dorada”) is a strip along the ocean where
accommodation options abound, from the popular Hotel El Cid and The
Inn at Mazatlan to Hotel Los Sabalos and the Holiday Inn Sunspree
Resort. Charming boutique hotels in the Historic District include the
newly opened Casa Lucila, with just eight bedrooms, and
bed-and-breakfast options, such as El Meson de Cynthia, Hotel
Machado and Royal Dutch Casa de Santa Maria. And, if guests don’t mind staying 20 minutes outside of town,
the lush beachfront five-star Emerald Bay Resort is worth the
drive.
Exclusively Online QUICK FACTS
" In September 2007, the national airport operator of Mexico
announced a 23.8 percent increase (since September 2006) in total
passenger traffic to the country, singling our Mazatlan as one of
the top drivers for that growth. " Mazatlan has the good fortune of sharing the same latitude as
Hawaii. " One reason agents might want to send clients to Mazatlan
includes the annual Carnaval Mazatlan, the third largest Mardi Gras
in the Americas after New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro, attracting as
many as 400,000 revelers every February. The Carnaval, dating back
to 1823, takes place along Mazatlan’s mile-long oceanfront malecon
which recently was renovated with wider sidewalks, new lighting and
city-themed monuments. " Golfers have a choice of courses at El Cid Golf & Country
Club and Estrella Del Mar. Other entertainment options include a
bevy of hotel spas, city tours (complete with a stop to see
death-defying cliff divers), shopping, art galleries, sailing,
surfing, parasailing and kayaking. Mazatlan is also known as one of
the world’s best sport-fishing locations, especially for billfish:
think mahi mahi, marlin, sailfish, swordfish, tuna and wahoo. |
