Mazatlan Mission Makes Five Stops In Canada

Travel advisors in five cities across Canada turned out to attend destination product presentations on Mazatlan recently, where they learned that Canada is the most important international market for this colonial beach resort city on Mexico’s Pacific coast, reports Press Today’s Western Editor, Ted Davis.

In mid-October, the Mazatlan mission made visits to Burnaby and Abbotsford in BC (near to Vancouver), as well as to Edmonton and Calgary, and finally Toronto. Attending were suppliers and officials from the destination, including Ana Trewaltha from the ministry of tourism of the state.

She noted that Mazatlan will welcome direct flights from nine Canadian cities this season. Non-stop flights from Canada to Mazatlan are offered by Sunwing and WestJet from Calgary, Vancouver, Kelowna, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Montreal.

“In the first two months of 2023, there was an increase of 62% in international visitors as compared to the same period the previous year,” she said, noting that 3.9 million sun seekers in total came to Mazatlan last year. “We have high expectations for this season and Canadian travel agents are the key,” said Trewaltha. Fifty-plus agents came to the Burnaby event, 30-plus turned out for the stop in Abbotsford, nearly 60 were in Edmonton, 60 in Calgary and 60 in Toronto.

Amongst the attractions that were highlighted was the Great Mazatlan “Sea of Cortes” Aquarium, which is the largest of its kind in Mexico and has 26 distinct habitats. It is home to over 5,000 specimens, representing 200 diverse species.

Another top attraction is the 1873 Observatory, which sits 75 metres above sea level and offers some of the city’s best ocean and land views. The facility includes a funicular railway, a museum, a bird sanctuary, ancestral indigenous centre, a zipline and Skybar 360 with a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean and city landscape.

Also highlighted during the evening was the upcoming Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association Conference and Trade Show, scheduled for Nov. 7-10, 2023. “This world-class event is a vote of confidence for our city and a recognition of Mazatlan’s importance in the industry. We are expecting to surpass 400,000 cruise visitors this year,” said Trewaltha.

In The Photo 

Seen here, from l to r, are Maria Viera from Las Flores, Veronica Rivas, Sofia Ferreira from Sunwing, Edna Gutierrez from Mazatlan Tourism Board, Dave Emery from El Cid and Ana Trewaltha from Ministry of Tourism of the State