Smart Meetings

Other visitors celebrated Day of the Dead at Xcaret, an expansive eco-cultural park in the Riviera Maya, south of Cancun. There, alongside residents from surrounding communities, they paid tribute to death by honoring life-affirming traditions, as Mexicans do with gusto.

Yucatan-bound jazz buffs traded their north-of-the-border Thanksgiving Day feast to soak up cool jazz on the warm sultry beaches of Playa del Carmen. At this 6th Annual Riviera Maya Jazz Festival, they heard renowned North American musicians like drummer Billy Cobham, alto sax player David Sanborn, Grammy award-winning guitarist-composer Earl Klugh, and noted Mexican performers like vocalist Iraida Noriega, pianist Hector Infanzon and more.

Along with the Cancun-Riviera Maya International Film Festival, these cultural events are all “added value” experiences, enhancing a region richly endowed by nature’s beneficence. Here dazzling turquoise seas lap a shoreline defined by sugar-white beaches, an intricate system of underground waterways, and Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve (Mexico’s third largest protected area). Offshore, America’s largest coral barrier reef extends from north of Quintana Roo to Honduras, including Cozumel, Isla Mujeres and Riviera Maya.

The 43,600-square-mile Yucatan Peninsula incorporates three distinctive Mexican states along with parts of Belize and Guatemala. In the state of Campeche, a fortified port city of the same name is emerging as a tourism destination, capitalizing on its colonial heritage and grand haciendas. The state of Yucatan is fabled for its colonial capital, Merida, the “white city”; Celestun Lagoon, where the flight of thousands of pink flamingos turns the sky to flame; and the legendary Mayan sites of Chichen Itza and Uxmal.

The state of Quintana Roo, which forms the peninsula’s northeastern border, is Mexico’s most visited region.  Here the Mexican Caribbean extends from the peninsula’s northern tip at Cancun south along the Riviera Maya for a hundred miles, and includes the offshore islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.    

And now, meeting planners are discovering what leisure travelers have long known—the Mexican Caribbean has it all. This multifaceted destination has a state-of-the-art infrastructure that sees increasingly up-market properties opening each year with sumptuous meeting, dining and spa options, and 10 golf courses allowing golfers to play consecutive days in strikingly different locations. The very landscape itself offers planners some of the most unique venues for once-in-a-lifetime events. Extraordinary sites like Xcaret and Xel-Ha, eco-parks in the Riviera Maya, invite groups to meet in an exotic setting that highlights the culture and natural environment of the region.
“Imagine holding a meeting or dinner on La Isla, an island within Xcaret, in the middle of an underground river,” says Iliana Rodriguez, spokesperson for the park.  “Within a cenote [a limestone cavern whose roof collapsed long ago], a restaurant two-stories high can accommodate groups as large as 600 for dinner in a magical setting.”
Xcaret recently opened The Wine Cellar, the world’s first to stock Mexican wines exclusively. Built from a $1-million investment, the cellar offers tours and tastings, while illuminating the history of Mexican wine. Exclusive dinners and tasting events for 25 can be arranged.  “For your VIP client, you dream it, we make it happen,” Rodriguez proclaims.

Other new openings are intriguing options as well. A Sisal Hacienda, modeled after an original that once operated in Merida, will open in 2009, with space for convention sessions and meals. One salon will seat 1,000 theater-style.  
A new adventure park, Xplor, set to open in January near Xcaret, will gear to incentives with such challenging activities as cave swimming in coral fossil caves, water ATVing, underground river canoeing and zip-lining. “Think Indiana Jones with safety,” Rodriguez says.

At the same time as the infrastructure expands, a new focus on sustainable tourism is beginning to emerge. At the core is recognition by the visitor industry of the need to preserve not only the natural features of this unique peninsula, but also to give back to the communities that have inhabited the land for generations. Select tour operators and DMCs have begun working with local Mayan communities, putting programs in place to benefit residents and visitors alike. For example, Alltournative, a pioneer in eco-tourism in the State of Quintana Roo, offers day expeditions that combine off-the-beaten-track adventure travel, nature and Maya culture.

Their “Maya Encounter” follows a journey to the 1,500-year-old ancestral city of Coba with a visit to a Maya village. There, clients on a guided forest walk learn about local flora and fauna; zip-line over one crystal-clear cenote, then rappel down into another; canoe on a freshwater lagoon; and swim, then share lunch prepared by local Maya women.  Team-building and corporate training programs incorporate these activities with others ranging from camping to Maya purification ceremonies in one-day to two-night segments.

Excellent airlift makes this alluring region easily accessible, with airports in Cancun, Cozumel and Merida. In fact, 42 percent of all foreign visitors come through Cancun International Airport, whose air connectivity is the most important in Latin America, with more than 180 destinations worldwide. Cancun is within 2.5 flight hours of many major U.S. cities. A new airport is currently awaiting authorization to break ground in the Riviera Maya, an indication of the long-range development planned for this booming region.

Planners should also keep in mind Mexico’s tax-free incentive for meetings, exempting events from the usual 10 percent tax on beverages, meals, accommodations, entertainment and event services for the entire event, plus up to two nights before and after the event.         

CANCUN
Cancun, the leading visitor destination in Mexico and the Caribbean, has also become Mexico’s premier beach destination for meetings, groups and conventions. And the Cancun CVB wants to make sure that meeting planners know it.

“Some still see us as a leisure destination, yet our infrastructure is ideally suited to meetings and conventions of all size,” says Daniela Martinez, groups and conventions manager for the Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau.  
That infrastructure has been overhauled and upgraded over the past three years with significant investment. In September, the Riviera Cancun Golf Course opened as the Mexican Caribbean’s 10th course, and the newest to be located strategically in the hotel zone. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course boasts two ocean-view holes and a Mexican Contemporary clubhouse surrounded by a natural reserve. Aqua Cancun, the 371-room property that is part of Grupo Posadas’ high-end lifestyle-branded hotels, reopened this year as Cancun’s newest coastal luxury spa resort.

According to Martinez, more than 80 percent of Cancun’s hotels are in the five-star category and offer competitive rates. Cancun’s current hotel room inventory numbers close to 29,000, with more than 4,000 rooms within walking distance of the award-winning Cancun Center.

In September, the World Travel Awards North & Central America awarded a prize to the Cancun Center, Conventions & Exhibitions, naming it the best convention center in Mexico and Central America. The prestigious awards have been called “the Oscars of the Travel Industry” by The Wall Street Journal.

The 154,000-square-foot Cancun Center in the heart of the hotel zone can accommodate 8,000 simultaneous attendees; its 13 meeting rooms can be divided into 37 breakout rooms, yielding 75,350 sq. ft. of meeting space. In addition, the center offers 78,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, spanning two levels.  

Part of the job of the CVB over the past few years has been to introduce the new Cancun, both in road shows across the U.S. and on FAM trips, so meeting planners can see for themselves a product that is not only visually beautiful and state-of-the-art, but one that also works because of the warmth and professionalism of industry employees.

When the PCMA Education Foundation held its annual Partnership Summit event this May in Cancun, the expectations were very high, according to Kelly Peacy, CAE, CMP, vice president, meetings and events for the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

According to Peacy, “The nature of the program called for top-notch facilities, interesting and exciting attractions and incredible attention to detail at every level. Our attendees for this event were professional meeting managers and executive-level supplier partners to the meetings industry—and they have seen it all! With so much at stake, the event needed to be perfect in every sense.”

Cancun as a destination rose to the occasion, she says, and surpassed the expectations. “Our attendees had a tremendous experience in a beautiful destination. From exceptional properties to the warm culture and hospitality, Cancun proved to be an excellent choice for our program. We look forward to returning soon!”

So, too, the Meeting Industry Ladies Organization (MILO) was sold on the destination at their first international event in Cancun this year, according to Jo Ann Hoffman, president/CEO, MILO/The Golfe, noting they were “extremely pleased with the hotel facilities, service and convention bureau support.”   

To recognize the importance of meeting and convention travelers, who bring in more than 51-million U.S. dollars to the destination each year, the CVB has extended its popular discount card for another year. The average visitor to Cancun with a group or convention stays four days and three nights and spends $1,250 per person, or 30 percent more than the average individual visitor. The cards provide significant savings at more than 140 participating restaurants, jewelry stores and other retailers, golf courses and other travel-related companies within Cancun and nearby Puerto Morelos.  
 
RIVIERA MAYA
The Riviera Maya stretches 81 gorgeous coastal miles from Puerto Morelos, 11 miles south of Cancun International Airport, to Tulum, the dazzling Mayan archeological site by the sea. The region has been named a “Top Destination in Mexico” for the past four consecutive years by Travel Weekly; one of the hottest beach destinations by Orbitz in 2008; and was featured as “The Next Riviera” in a Travel & Leisure story.  Its mix of ultimate resorts carved out of mangrove-lined lagoons, simple beachside bungalows and stylish boutique hotels, plus all-inclusives to top any in the Caribbean, caters to every type of traveler. Its remarkable gifts of nature draw beachcombers, divers, paddlers, trekkers and other eco-travelers to explore the region’s network of more than 100 cenotes fed by underground rivers, fishing villages, archeological sites like Coba and Tulum, and Sian Ka’an, Mexico’s first Biosphere Reserve with 1.5 million pristine acres.  A rich calendar of cultural events utilizes the unique features of such a landscape.

New investments pouring into the region are transforming the Riviera Maya into a major player for the meetings as well as leisure market, with multiple large-scale projects, planned for both the near and long term. By year’s end, new developments will bring the Riviera Maya’s total available room count to 38,000. Meeting space currently totals about 300,000 sq. ft. that can accommodate 23,000 people with 143 meeting rooms of varying size.  

“We’re expecting 3 million guests by year’s end, topping our 2.7-million visitor count received last year,” says Javier Aranda Pedrero, director of the Riviera Maya’s Destination Marketing Office.  He says the Riviera Maya satisfies the needs of a diverse yet demanding clientele, noting that even the all-inclusives have begun to target highly specialized markets, from mid-range properties to some of the world’s finest special- category luxury inclusives featuring gourmet food and specialized programs.  

AMResorts’ Secrets Maroma Beach and Secrets Silversands debuted last summer as adults-only “Unlimited Luxury” properties. Azul Hotels by Karisma, a group of Gourmet Inclusive hotels, offers unique programs for children at two new properties:  Azul Sensatori by Karisma, along the lovely Bahia Petempich, and Azul Fives by Karisma in Playa del Carmen. Pedrero emphasizes that the region offers the best variety of all-inclusives in the Caribbean.

Riviera Maya destinations include quiet seaside villages like Akumal and Puerto Aventuras, and master-planned resorts like Mayakoba. Here five luxury properties, designed around a series of waterways, include the 401-room Fairmont Mayakoba, which opened in 2006, and the 128-room Rosewood Mayakoba, which opened last year. Asian hospitality brand Banyan Tree makes its North American debut with 132 poolside villas at Banyan Tree Mayakoba in early 2009, while Viceroy Mayakoba plans a spring opening for 164 villas. (La Casa Que Canta is still in the development stage.)

Marriott just announced new development plans to include the luxurious 450-room JW Marriott Milla de Oro Resort & Spa and the upscale 150-room Renaissance Milla de Oro Resort, both of which are expected to open in the Riviera Maya in 2011.  

The pulse of Riviera Maya is found in Playa del Carmen. Once known mainly as the point-of-departure for the ferry to Cozumel, Playa is now the trendy nighttime hot-spot, whose restaurants and clubs draw people from all over the Riviera Maya and even from Cancun. Quinta Avenida, or Fifth Avenue, Playa’s pedestrian center, comes alive in the wee hours, after a day spent hiking, diving, paddling and beachcombing, golfing or lazing around the super-sized pools and spas of neighboring all-inclusive resorts. Dine-around events are popular here in Playa, where meeting-goers can sample cuisine from Mayan to Mexican, Italian to Indian. Ah Cacao Chocolate Café promotes natural well being through authentic Mayan chocolate and coffee from Mexico.

A new airport between Tulum and Coba is awaiting approval by year’s end.  While the Cancun International Airport is close to the Riviera Maya’s northern edge, the new project is another sign of things to come. With a three-year construction time frame, the airport will ultimately service the Costa Maya, an untouched region slated for future development in the south of the state.  

COZUMEL
Cozumel, the Mexican Caribbean’s largest island, is accessible by ferry from Playa del Carmen, by cruise ship and by direct air service from Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte and Denver. This laid-back diver’s paradise and favorite Caribbean port-of-call is targeting group business from simple board of directors retreats to moderate size incentive gatherings with new space and facilities, along with a pampering spa session or round of golf at the Cozumel Country Club.

The island, with a population of 80,000, offers 3,000 rooms in 20 hotels. Newest is the new Aura Cozumel Wyndham Grand Bay, which opened last January as the island’s premier luxury, all-inclusive boutique hotel. The Preferred Boutique property offers 87 one- and two-bedroom suites including 20 swim-up suites and one with a solarium and pool.

The Wyndham Cozumel Resort & Spa, the island’s largest resort with more than 400 rooms, features Cozumel’s largest spa, with an adults-only section.

The 181-room Hotel Cozumel & Resort has a stand-alone conference area, which opened in 2006. The facility offers 5,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space with breakout rooms, and can accommodate 600 people theater-style. Other hotels with noteworthy meeting space and capabilities are El Cozumeleno, the Melia, Presidente InterContinental and the Park Royal. The Park Royal has the newest facilities, equipped with an outdoor theater area and state-of-the-art light and sound system.

Visitors flock to Cozumel for its offshore diving opportunities. Cozumel National Reef Marine Park and Chankanaab Nature Park were established as marine reserves to protect the great diversity of marine life. The water visibility here along the Great Mayan Reef, the world’s second largest reef system, extends to 200 feet.

ISLA MUJERES 
Smaller than Cozumel, this “Isle of Women” is another diving and eco-tourism paradise, a true getaway island, where bicycles, boats and diving equipment are the gear of choice. Natural sanctuaries protect underwater life at Garrafon National Park, while the offshore island of Isla Contoy offers the chance to observe more than 90 bird species, including cranes, frigate birds and pelicans, as well as giant sea turtles. Dolphin Discovery provides a setting to swim and interact with the dolphins.

With 1,200 hotel rooms, a convention center and cultural center, Isla Mujeres draws a loyal coterie of return visitors, whether day-trippers or those attending small meetings in a setting with minimal distraction. On one end of the Isle of Women, on a cliff known as Punta Sur, there is a temple the Maya once used to worship Ixchel, the goddess of weaving, happiness, the moon, medicine and abundance. What an appropriate place to contemplate the wealth of true riches available here in the Mexican Caribbean, the kind that nurture the body and soul and create lasting memories long after a meeting has ended.

---

Carol Canter has been writing about Mexico for both national and international publications since her first trip in 1967. She writes with passion about the people and their history, culture, art and architecture, music and food, and returns as often as she can.   

 

Back to Top

Getting There

Cancun International Airport (CUN) is Mexico’s second busiest airport after Mexico City, with 21 airlines arriving and departing on domestic and international flights. The airport is located approximately 12 miles from the city and the Hotel Zone, and 11 miles from the start of the Riviera Maya.

Cozumel International Airport (CZM), two miles north of San Miguel, has daily domestic and international flights, including direct service from Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver and Houston.

Merida-Licenciado Manuel Cresencio Rejon International Airport (MID), five miles west of the city, has direct domestic service to other Mexican cities as well as direct flights to Los Angeles and Miami on Mexicana. Back to Top

Not To Be Missed

A visit to at least one of the Mayan archeological sites: Tulum for its proximity and its setting by the sea, Coba for its silent jungle stillness, Uxmal for the perfection of the carvings, Chichen Itza for the scope and brilliance of its ancient builders.

A swim in a cenote, an underwater cave.

Snorkeling or scuba diving along the world’s second largest barrier reef.

A visit to one of the main ecological parks: Xcaret, Xel-Ha and Tres Rios, or the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.

A traditional Mayan-themed spa treatment.

A taste of authentic Yucatecan cuisine.

A ferry trip to an island like Cozumel or Isla Mujeres.

A visit to a beautiful colonial city like Merida or Campeche.

Dining and clubbing in Playa del Carmen and Cancun. Back to Top