CANCUN, Mexico (March 6, 2007)-Premier international vacation destination, Cancun, Mexico, prepares for another busy travel season by featuring many new offerings to travelers. These improvements, along with reports of increased hotel occupancy numbers and recent award recognition from Agent @ Home Magazine, are further securing Cancun as an international hotspot for the coming year.

CANCUN IN NUMBERS
The Cancun Hotel Association, a non-profit, private organization representing over one hundred of the region’s hotels, announces a notable rise in general hotel occupancy this winter when compared to last year’s numbers. Showing a more than six percent increase in occupancy since 2005, December helped pave the way for an impressive start this year, as general occupancy numbers continued to increase up to 90% in January.

NEW ECO-FRIENDLY DIVERSIONS
Cancun will make a splash by offering the first Mexican resort-based dolphinarium, named Delphinus, scheduled to open in April of 2007. The exhibit, based at Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa, will allow guests an exclusive opportunity to swim with dolphins in a habitat they both share: the sparkling clear waters of the Caribbean, surrounded by the luxurious setting of the Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa. Delphinus will cover nearly 22,000 square feet of impressive natural surroundings, ensuring an environmentally-friendly habitat for the dolphins in the resort’s own seaside lagoon (www.delphinusworld.com).

Also adding to the destination’s growing list of eco-friendly attractions is Alltournative, an adventure travel company providing one-of-a-kind ecological experiences in the Maya world. Alltournative’s newest tour, “Mayan Flight,” based in Kantenah, just 60 miles from Cancun, is a new itinerary that allows travelers to spend a day enjoying unique activities, while simultaneously supporting the area’s Mayan traditions. Adventurers can mountain bike in the forest, hike through the jungle, and discover freshwater-filled underground cave systems called cenotes.

This expedition, in addition to the other five tours offered by Alltournative, promotes sustainable tourism, a concept that ensures the economic development and preservation of each Mayan region, which can be more than a thousand years old in specific areas. More information can be found by visiting wwwalltournative.com.

PROPERTY INVESTMENT IN CANCUN
Cancun will also be hosting the third annual Mercado Inmobiliario Turistico (Touristic Real Estate Market) conference cycle, an international forum promoting the development of the tourism industry throughout Latin America from a sustainable, political, economic, and social point of view. The Mercado Inmobiliario Turistico, or MINT, will bring together a variety of different business professionals, investors, experts and international advisors to objectively discuss the investment projects and opportunities that are currently taking place in Mexico.

Slated to take place at the Cancun Center on April 19 – 20, 2007, the conference will include site visits to the most prominent tourism developments in Cancun and the Riviera Maya. For more information, visit www.mintcancun.com.

AGENT @ HOME AWARD
The innovative Cancun CVB’s Cancun Tourism Institute (CTI), which trains travel professionals to sell and promote the region’s attractions, accommodations and services, has been recognized with a Gold Prize from Agent @ Home Magazine, a publication designed to meet the needs of thousands of home-based travel agents. Cancun was chosen by the majority of the publication’s subscribers as the best program for qualification and support of travel agents in the United States.

Today, nearly three thousand travel agents have graduated from the first module of the course, which has generated over 20 million dollars in Cancun tourism sales to date. Completing the program enables agents to participate in exclusive incentives, including a Loyalty Program and on-site course provided by the Cancun CVB.

NEW CHEF AT PARAISO DE LA BONITA
Paraiso de La Bonita has announced a new addition to its beachfront, AAA Five-Diamond property. French Chef Marc Dobbels, the resort’s new Executive Chef, brings Michelin Star Pedigree to the intimate resort, which is situated on 14 acres leading into the Caribbean Sea, in Puerto Morelos, just twenty minutes from Cancun. More information can be found by visiting the famous spa resorts’s website at www.paraisodelabonita.com.

ABOUT CANCUN www.cancun.info
Cancun is situated on the northeastern tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, uniquely bordered by the Caribbean Sea and the tranquil Nichupte Lagoon. The destination is renowned for its 16-mile stretch of white sandy beaches, world-class hotels, exceptional recreation features and proximity to historic Mayan archeological sites. Visitors to Cancun can enjoy the Mesoamerican Reef, the second largest coral reef in the world and action-packed participatory sports activities that capitalize on Cancun’s exceptionally clear, blue waters.

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