In recounting the tourism results of the first nine months of the year in Sinaloa, during his participation in the conference of the spokesperson headed by the Secretary General of the State Government, Feliciano Castro Meléndrez, the head of the Ministry of Tourism of Sinaloa, Ricardo Velarde Cárdenas, reported that 4.65 million tourists have been received, with an economic impact of 6.5 billion pesos and a hotel occupancy of 75 percent.
Velarde Cárdenas stated that almost 80% of these visits have come to Mazatlán, with 4 million tourists and 5.5 billion pesos of estimated impact in the same period. He also announced that, in terms of tourism infrastructure, a significant investment has been made in Ahome, Guasave, Culiacán and Mazatlán, with more than 1,934 rooms and 15 hotels under construction. In the first three years of this government, eight new hotels have begun operations, totaling 1,520 keys.
According to information from the state government, in the air connectivity segment, more than 3.4 million passengers have arrived, which has increased the influx of passengers both in Mazatlán, with 18.34%, and in Ahome, with 22.40 percent. He also commented that air routes have been strengthened and that one of the markets that has grown the most in the state is Monterrey and Tijuana.
Regarding Monterrey, Volaris and Viva Aerobus will reactivate and generate new routes: Volaris will do so on November 4 from Los Mochis to Monterrey and from Culiacán to Monterrey a day earlier; Viva Aerobus, for its part, will also have the same routes this month.
Regarding the arrival of tourist cruises, they total 83, with 328,500 passengers on board. “Just last week, we received three of them, with 10,600 visitors, which shows that Mazatlán is one of the preferred destinations, with a decrease of more than 70% of cruise passengers and an economic impact of 473 million,” said the president.
Regarding the Magical and Stately Towns, he noted that, in accordance with the instructions of Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, work has been done to promote their different attractions for their strengthening.
On the other hand, in the meeting industry sector, there have been more than 100 congresses, exhibitions and conventions, with an impact of 5.5 billion pesos, in addition to other congresses and conventions already scheduled for the next two years.
“Just last week, from October 16 to 25, we received three international congresses: CONTPAQi; the National Congress of Biochemistry, where we were fortunate to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018, Frances Arnold, as a speaker at the event, with more than 1,500 attendees; and the General Assembly of Associates of the Congress of Air Traffic Controllers,” he said.
“Also, this same week, in Cancun, together with the Tres Islas de Mazatlán Hotel Association, we received recognition from Price Travel Holding as the destination in Mexico with the best marketing campaign for tourism promotion. It is worth noting that the port was the only destination in Mexico to be awarded, along with Montreal, Canada, and Anaheim, California,” he added.
Velarde Cárdenas emphasized that the promotion of Sinaloa is continuous in the most important destinations in terms of connectivity. “The last city where we were present was last week in Tijuana, with the participation of the hotel associations, also showing attractions of the Magical Towns,” he added.
Something important that he considered in the Tijuana tour is that it was used to strengthen the relationship and generate promotional synergies with the Cross Border Xpress (CBX), for which Sinaloa represents 10%, which means that we are the third state that attracts the most tourism from this California market, generating promotion with tour operators and with the Mexican consulate in San Diego, as well as coordination with the airline Volaris.
Regarding other events, Fiesta Amigos is in the works for next week, with which the most important operators and travel agencies, both national and from the United States and Canada, are received. Also, in the area of gastronomy, in Los Mochis they will have La Mochila Fest, of craft beer; in Mazatlán, the Great Pacific Marathon; and for the first week of December, the Ciclotur, making a presence at the Festival of Magical Towns in Sonora, along with the five Magical Towns: El Fuerte, Mocorito, Cosalá, El Rosario and San Ignacio, he pointed out.
Source: eleconomista
