Durango is a destination that has distinguished itself for years by offering its visitors various themed activities in which everyone has the opportunity to experience the culture, history, and traditions of this beautiful state in a fun and entertaining way.
However, this year it has decided to renew its experiences and consolidate its current ones through its “Start an Adventure in Durango” campaign. To learn more about this initiative, Elisa María Haro Ruiz, Durango’s Secretary of Tourism, spoke with Publimetro:
How do you expect to interact during this edition of the Tianguis?
This year we have a very active agenda. We will be accompanied by our tour operators and hoteliers, and we will participate in various activities within the Tianguis.
We’ll also be at a winery, looking to share and merge Durango cuisine with all the new trends of these great chefs in the Guadalupe Valley. We’ll bring our mezcals, dried chiles, and preserves, and we’ll be able to integrate them into the dishes from this vineyard with which we’ll be collaborating.
What’s “Start an Adventure in Durango” about?
With this initiative, we want to invite people who dare to live a different experience, especially by promoting cultural tourism and ecotourism, which are our strengths.
Thus, in the capital, we’ve also taken on the task of organizing round-trip excursions, also seeking to extend the visitor’s stay. We have excursions to the Pancho Villa route to San Juan del Río, where you can visit the birthplace of this emblematic Mexican figure.
Also, the Mennonite Route, where you can visit Nuevo Ideal, a municipality also less than an hour from Durango, where you can learn about the lives of these Mennonite communities, visit cheese factories, and learn everything related to their culture and traditions.
And of course, don’t forget our Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town) of Nombre de Dios, where the largest quantity of mezcal in Durango is produced.
How have you established yourselves in the ecotourism sector?
On our border with Mazatlán, in terms of ecotourism, we have 250 hectares in this Sierra Madre corridor, which connects Durango with Mazatlán.
We offer everything from boutique hotels and hotels with spas to cabins for couples and families, offering activities such as rappelling, zip-lining, climbing, and of course kayaking on our rivers, hiking, birdwatching, which has also gained significant popularity in recent years, and astrotourism, which is also beginning to gain significant importance.
All of this in these 200 centers, each specializing in different activities; of course, some are more for couples, some more for families, but all in a 100% safe environment for visitors, I also want to emphasize that.
How do you hope to consolidate this vision during your participation in the Tianguis?
We’re investing heavily in this segment because it has a much broader value chain than tourism. It’s not just room-nights, transportation, and food that are consumed, but the major productions coming to Durango, from pre-production, begin consuming or hiring everything from carpentry, masonry, and everything related to the construction, transportation, and food industries.
Now, major platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, HBO, and Disney Plus have all been to Durango, and I think everything except Westerns is already being filmed there. That’s also the message we want to convey: Durango can be the setting for anything you want to produce.
The State’s Three Must-Sees
- Durango Capital
Considered the best starting point for visiting Durango, as its connectivity and infrastructure make it a perfect arrival point.
In addition, visitors can enjoy the Francisco Villa Museum, our mining tunnel tour, which has also had its museography updated. It’s an underground museum that tells the history of mining in the state.
- The Old West Walk
This place has established itself as one of Durango’s most iconic and emblematic destinations. It was a theme park where movies were filmed in the 1950s, and has now been transformed so visitors can take home a unique themed souvenir.
Here you can spend the whole day watching cowboy and Indian shows, horseback riding, or eating at the various establishments.
- Pueblo Mágico Nombre de Dios
This Pueblo Mágico in Durango is also the oldest in the state. Its original name was Villa de los Cuatro Templos (Villa of the Four Temples).
Here you can enjoy waterfalls, springs, and tree-lined streams that form the typical landscape of this place.
To the panoramic list, add the towers of its numerous churches, which were the first to call people to prayer in this corner of Durango.
Source: publimetro
