New Boss at Fonatur

Enrique Carrillo Lavat is the new general director of Fonatur. Carrillo is the third person to hold this position during the administration of President Felipe Calderón (2006 to 2012). Fonatur is the agency that developed Cancun, helped with Los Cabos and hopes to get things moving at Huatulco, Ixtapa and especially at Loreto. Fonatur also is in charge of the yet-to-be-born master-planned resort at Playa Espiritu not too far from Mazatlán, the new Cozumel marina and more.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Oops!

Just to set the record straight, in 2007, Mexico, according to the World Tourism Organization, was the 8^th most visited country in the world. In 2010 it had slipped to 23^rd place. The number of visitors fell by 13 percent, earnings in dollars were off by 8 percent.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Wreck of the Ocean Star

The Ocean Star, first Mexican-owned cruise ship, lies in Manzanillo with its owners said to be looking for a buyer. The 40-year-old vessel was intended for cruising along the Mexican Pacific. Its market would be primarily Mexicans, especially those who did not qualify for a U.S. visa. Low prices were another allure, since no flights to foreign ports would be necessary. One mishap after another forced a cancelation of this year’s schedule. With 20 million in debts, the owners are not expected to weigh anchor in 2012

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Bargains up for grabs

Sales of retirement homes for American baby boomers have fallen as much as 70 percent as a result of poor economic conditions north of the border plus concerns over criminal violence in Mexico. Hardest hit have been developments in border areas, but asking prices also are reported to have fallen by 50 percent in Los Cabos and in and around Cancun.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

New Era

The world will not end on 21 December 2012, final date in the Maya calendar, but a new era may well begin. This opinion was expressed by experts attending the Seventh Palenque Roundtable. First date in the Maya calendar is 11 August 3114 BC.

Curious, I investigated to see what happened some 5,000 years ago. It seems to be that around then civilization began. The first dynasty emerged to rule a united Egypt and hieroglyphic writing appeared. The Minoans took over in Crete and the first structures were erected at Stonehenge. Things were happening in Mesopotamia (Iraq), China and in the Americas. So it may be that the end of next year really will be interesting.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Nada

This has been a quiet week. Some people asked, “Where’s my Mexicogram?” Sorry. Why distract you when nothing is going on. And it looks like nothing will be. This is to be another long weekend, this time celebrating the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution on 20 November 1910. Those who can will take off starting either today, tomorrow or Saturday and should be back at work on Tuesday.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of AmericanTravel Writers

Day 1: New Caledonia

I’m alive and kicking. Great adventure in the New Caledonia rain forest today. We were on a guided tour when I wandered off on my own to take pictures. I had a map but I left it back in my backpack along with my water. I followed the trail less traveled on my way back thinking it was a shortcut. I got to a trail head with a sign pointing left and right. I went left. If I had gone right, I would have been about 50 yards from camp. I kept taking different trails trying to find the high ground so that I could see the camp. Impossible in a rain forest. I got farther and farther away from camp and where we originally hiked. After about an hour they sent out a search party, including the other six members of our group who turned out to be very concerned about my being missing in action.

I walked down treacherous trails and back up again. In all, I probably walked about 12 miles. Very hot and humid. Sweating like a stuffed pig and dehydrated but no sense of urgency except I was holding everyone up for a trip to lunch (which we never did make). I called out a few times but I was too far away from the search team. I finally decided to retrace my steps. After about three more miles, I came to an open space where a jeep was parked and a rescue team member sitting in the driver’s seat. The word went out that I was found and I was raced along a winding, treacherous path at about 40 mph.

None of the group was upset with me. They were all concerned and happy to see me. Marybeth and Nancy had told everyone that I was in good shape and that I would find my way back. But everyone got really concerned after an hour. It took a little more than two hours to find me.

Great story; great for the blog but I think tomorrow I will stay with the group.

— Stan Wawer

Volaris adds flights

While Interjet in five years has grown into Mexico’s second-largest airline, Volaris, which started about the same time, is much more international. The carrier now flies to Los Angeles, Fresno and San Jose in California, also Las Vegas, and has just inaugurated service to Chicago from Mexico City, with plans to add Chicago service from Zacatecas and Morelia. Most of its customers are what management calls ethnic, but anybody is welcome to buy a ticket.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Wyndham Expansion

The Wyndham Group expects to open at least five more franchised properties in Mexico next year. Daniel del Olmo, managing director forLatin America, told a press group that Wyndham now has 32 hotels in the country, operating either as franchises or under management contracts. The group itself owns more than a dozen brands, including Ramada, Super 8, Days Inn, Howard Johnson and Travel Lodge. Del Olmo did not specify where the new ventures will be located.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Acapulco Film Festival

Sophia Loren and Alain Delon have promised to be on hand for the opening of the Acapulco Film Festival, which starts next week. The festival is an on and off event, first held in the 1960s. It is being revived in an attempt to revive Acapulco’s reputation as a glamorous hot spot. The resort has been overshadowed by Cancun, Los Cabos and others and been troubled by narcotics cartels battling for control of the area.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Los Cabos convention center

Work is scheduled to begin next week on a vast convention center that will house the annual G20 gathering next year. The Group of 20 takes in representatives of the top 20 economies in the world and Mexico is one of them. The center will cover 25,000 square meters and have seating for 9,000 people. Controversial, it is expected to change the profile of Los Cabos, a destination that until now has been regarded as exclusive and expensive.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Seeking the sick

Six million Americans spent $100 billion obtaining health care abroad, according to Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who neglected to reveal the source of his statistics. What he did say is that Mexico City would like a bigger share of that market. Medical services, often provided by physicians and surgeons trained in the United States, cost anywhere from 30 to 50 percent less that in the United States.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Day 2 in New Zealand

Christmas decorations in the Bank Arcade. This is also New Zealand’s spring.

It’s spring in New Zealand with temperatures in the low 60s. But it is also the Christmas season, which makes for an interesting contrast. Holiday decorations already have gone up and a Christmas parade is scheduled for Nov. 14 here in Wellington. Most of the stores are having spring sales.

Since the Wellington dollar is worth around 82 cents American, you might think you could get more bang for your buck, but prices here are outrageously high. T-shirts, for example, are 20 to 25 New Zealand dollars on sale. Anything wool is $200 to $400 or more (NZ dollars).

This is a country where there was once more than 8 million sheep and now there are about 4 million. With the introduction of synthetics, the wool business is not what is used to be.

The city is clean, but there is some graffiti and the city has an Occupy Wellington movement going on. Yes, even here in the Southern Hemisphere, the natives are restless.

Wellington is a city of about 180,000 population. One of its finest shopping “malls” is Old Bank Arcade, a beautiful heritage building, once a bank, and now housing some of Wellington’s premier fashion, beauty and lifestyle stores. The Old Bank clock tells the history of the building every hour on the hour and is worth a visit. It’s open seven days.

Later today I am visiting Middle Earth filming locations from Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit,” which will be released in early 2012.

Pan Am Games

For the past week, Guadalajara has been busy patting itself on the back for the way it staged the Pan American Games, which ended Oct. 30. Prior to the opening ceremonies, there were worries that everything would not be ready. And there were problems, but most apparently were overcome by the attitude of the local people.

“We should import them to Toronto,” one Canadian volleyball player told reporters. “We need fans like that at home.”

Toronto will host the games four years from now. Guadalajara, for its part, hopes to win the Olympics. There it may be disappointed. According to press reports, the gilt on the gold medals awarded to champions already is starting to peel off.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Day 1 in New Zealand

My wife and I left LAX Saturday night for a trip to New Zealand on Air New Zealand. Not the greatest flight of my life. Lots of turbulence, economy-class seats too close together leaving very little leg room, mediocre food and not hot towel.

We arrived in Auckland after a 12-and-a-half-hour flight and then a one-hour flight to Wellington. Our room was not available at the Wellington Intercontinental when we arrived at 11 a.m. Monday. We lost a day crossing the International Dateline. The time difference from Southern California is 21 hours. The room wasn’t available until after 2 p.m. Great — shower, shave, brushed my teeth and changed into casual business attire.

We attended a cocktail reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Wine was good, food a mixed bag. Looking forward to tomorrow (Tuesday in New Zealand) and a trip to the Shire and land of the Hobbits, which Peter Jackson is turning into a 2012-release movie after his successful “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

I’ll have some photos available in my next report.

— Stan Wawer

Promotion planned

Today Mexico launches a $30 million ad campaign featuring conversations with cab and limo drivers taking travelers home after a visit South of the Border. Goal is to change the perception that Mexico is a dangerous place to vacation. Although the drivers and their cars — with cameras hidden inside — are on a payroll, the tourists and their comments are real. One can only suppose that negative comments will not be included in the program.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Toluca languishes

Low-fare Spirit Airlines is planning to increase promotion of its service from Fort Lauderdale to Toluca. The route apparently has been a disappointment, Toluca being as unknown in Florida as Fort Lauderdale is in Mexico. Still, Spirit has announced intentions to bring in another flight, possibly from Dallas. All this is good news for Toluca airport management. The facility operates as an alternative to the Mexico City airport, but has been suffering. Interjet and Volaris both have shifted business to Mexico City, taking advantage of absent Mexicana Airlines.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Mundo Imperial

In Acapulco, the International Mining Conference opened at the Mundo Imperial Convention Center this week, the first such event to be held at the facility, which had been scheduled to open more than three years ago. Attending were a reported 10,000 delegates from more than a dozen countries. The center, quite close to the Acapulco airport, features 35,000 square meters of exhibit space plus shops and restaurants. The Mundo Imperial complex, if plans materialize, eventually also will have nearly 1,000 hotel rooms, a shopping mall and more.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

San Antonio

Interjet, the fastest-growing of Mexico’s new, low-fare airlines, will inaugurate service to the United States a month from today by offering daily flights to San Antonio from Mexico City and Toluca. Toluca serves the upscale west side of the capital. Most of the passengers at first probably will be Mexicans heading to Texas for some Christmas shopping. Interjet management hopes to take over more routes previously served by Mexicana Airlines, which is not expected to pull out of intensive care.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers