FITA, The International Travel Fair of the Americas

(An important opening message from the Author of the PEOPLE'S CHOICE GUIDE CANCUN Travel Survey Guidebook - “Before you read any further, please note that if this blog entry seems familiar, this is because it was originally posted on November 23, 2010. The reason I am reposting it at this time is because several pictures disappeared and some of the links were no longer functioning properly. In addition, as a result of FITA, there have been major developments in the new year involving our travel guide's discounts program and several high-profile establishments in Cancun.”)

One week after Mexico celebrated its 200^th anniversary on September 16^th, 2010, Mexico City played host to one of the world’s largest and most important travel conventions. The International Tourism Fair of the Americas, also known as FITA, took place at the Bancomer convention and Expo Center between September 23 – 26. Here is a short video about the 2010 FITA conference:

The following link contains interesting facts about the FITA 2010 Travel Fair:

http://www.mexicocityexperience.com/travel_center/fita_2010/

The Mexico City tourism office and the Mexico Tourism Board organized and hosted FITA, which attracted an estimated 30,000 people. The first 2 days of the conference were open exclusively to travel industry professionals and members of the press, followed by 2 more that were open to the general public. In attendance were more than 120 journalists, 1,500 vacation industry buyers and 600 exhibitors, from all corners of the globe.

Mexico City's secretary of tourism Alejandro Rojas, pictured below making a speech at the Convention Center, proclaimed that the city was a natural place to host a world travel fair due to its convenient centralized location. He was quite engaging, and a true Embassador of travel to Mexico, who represented Distrito Federal (Mexico City) very well. It was refreshing to listen to him discuss quite openly, and without spin, the security issues that Mexico faces as a country.

Rojas said the fair was designed to showcase Mexico City, both as an ideal location and as a world-class cosmopolitan city. In addition to Mexico City, representatives from every major state tourism office from around the country were in attendance. Perhaps my favorite booth, aside from the one presented by Cancun, was the Oaxaca exhibition.

As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, Oaxaca boasts an incredibly diverse art and culinary scene. Local inhabitants create woven fabrics, handcrafts and wares made of black clay. While the chocolate sauce known as Mole was originally created in the State of Puebla, it was perfected and brought to another level in the mountainous regions of Oaxaca. In the blog, I described one of my favorite moderate-priced restaurants in Cancun, Calenda Oaxaca. The establishment specializes in Oaxacan style fare, and is solely responsible for introducing me to a regional culinary treat known as Chapulinas, grasshoppers, roasted with chili powder. Unlike the ones shown in the picture below, the ones prepared for us were chopped into fine bits, and served along with fresh guacamole on the side with tortillas, to eat them in tacos. Eating insects may sound a bit over-the-top weird, but believe it or not, grasshopper tacos, a Oaxacan delicacy, are really quite tasty:

Of course I was thrilled to discover the Oaxaca booth at the FITA conference had some grasshoppers to try, but I digress…

Due to the fact that I am an Author of a Cancun travel guidebook, I was invited to attend the conference with a group of journalists from the U.S. On the day we arrived, after getting checked into our hotels, members of the press attended an inaugural lunch at the Camino Real Hotel in the Mexico City neighborhood of Santa Fe.

After a delicious meal, we boarded a minibus to take a drive around town in order to get acquainted with Mexico City’s many neighborhoods. After getting to see some of the city’s world famous sites, we made our way around Chapultepec Park. This ancient park is best described as Mexico City’s version of New York’s Central Park. Adjacent to the park sits the Museo Nacional de Antropología, where we went on a two hour guided tour. It has been a goal of mine to visit this museum because ever since I took my first trip to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, I have heard that this was the place to go for ancient Mayan history buffs. It was incredible to be within arm's length of some of the artifacts that I have been seeing pictures of for so many years! Here are a few pictures I took with the camera on my smartphone. My favorite has to be the reclining Mayan rain god known as Chac Mool. This particular statue was taken from the site of Chichen Itza, located approximately 2 1/2 hours west of the resort city of Cancun, Mexico. There remains a statue at the site, however it is difficult to see, unlike the one in the photo, which sits at waist level. The first photo is of a massive calendario Azteca (Aztec calendar).

In order to get a better idea of how big the calendar is, for a better perspective I took a picture from a little further back, with people standing next to it:

The only remaining evidence of the Olmec Indians is in the form of rock carvings scattered throughout the Yucatan Peninsula. Based on their facial features and shape of their heads, one theory of this peoples' origin is that they made their way across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa several thousand years ago:

And finally the Mayan rain god known as Chac Mool, pronounced Chahc+mole, like the animal, mole:

After a cocktail reception to close out the first day, we were taken back to our respective hotels to get some rest. Most of us were put up at the Westin in the neighborhood of Santa Fe, while a few others were located at other hotels scattered throughout the neighborhood. This area is one of Mexico City’s newest business districts, and home to many brand new buildings, including the Expo Bancomer Convention Center where the FITA conference was held. Even in the midst of an economic downturn, Santa Fe was teeming with construction. This is because it is one of the only areas in the city where tall buildings can be built, as it does not sit on an active seismic zone. The hotel where I was put up had just finished construction approximately one month prior to my arrival. While I wish I can provide an in-depth review of the hotel, in all honesty, I didn’t spend much time there. What I can say is for a business hotel, I found the Westin Santa Fe to be in the best location, within walking distance of the Expo Bancomer Convention Center. The front desk personnel were very friendly and helpful, the maintenance crew was slow to get to my room to address an electrical issue, but they did manage to make the repairs the following day. My guestroom had an open-sky view with buildings in the distance, was very clean, with two comfy beds, easy-to-use in-room safe, a fully-stocked mini bar and several English speaking TV stations. As members of the press, we were treated to a daily breakfast buffet, which was decent, but not exactly what I would classify as haute cuisine. That being said, on our final day at the hotel, we were treated to a special breakfast prepared by the Head Chef. This meal I would definitely say was haute cuisine, prepared in a Mexican and French style, bravo to the Head Chef! I highly recommend the Santa Fe Westin in Mexico City for those who are conducting business in the area and are looking for a conveniently located, clean hotel. Here is a link to the Santa Fe Westin information page on the Starwood Hotels website.

The FITA convention’s second day was perhaps the most productive as far as doing business is concerned. One of the highlights for me was attending a press conference hosted by Sr. Jorge Luis Tellez, the Promotion Director of the Cancun CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau). Topics he covered during his press conference included recent statistics about Cancun’s tourism trends and the new advertising and marketing campaign, Cancun & The Treasures Of The Caribbean. The major difference between the current campaign and those of campaign’s past, is that more attention will be given to attractions outside of Cancun including Isla Holbox, Isla Contoy, Isla Mujeres and Puerto Morelos:

http://cancuntravel.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/cancun-and-the-treasures-of-the-caribbean/

I was extremely excited to listen to Sr. Tellez discuss future plans for the Cancun Hotel Zone and the ongoing beach maintenance program. There has been the need to address sand levels ever since Hurricane Wilma struck in late 2005. During the day and a half the storm ravaged the area, much of the Hotel Zone beach was swept away in the strong currents. In an effort to improve the size of the beaches in the Cancun Hotel Zone, sand from the ocean floor was siphoned on shore. Subsequently there was a need to repeat this process a couple of years later. Sr. Tellez’ words were reassuring, as he announced that the local officials were aware that this will be an ongoing process, and one that will need to be repeated again in the future. When comparing the before and after views of the beach at the Krystal Hotel Cancun, it is easy to see the vast improvement.

Señor Tellez was not only knowledgeable about Cancun and the history of the area, but he was extremely generous with his time. I would personally like to thank Sr. Tellez for allowing members of the press the opportunity to meet independently for a little Q&A. Here is a picture of my sit down with Señor Tellez where I had the opportunity to ask him several questions about Cancun and plans for the future:

After attending the press conference in the morning, we were granted free time to walk around the floor and explore, before heading out for another guided tour of the city. This is when I got the most work done, making valuable contacts and connections with several Cancun related businesses including hotels and tour company representatives. Several of the resort managers expressed an interest in participating with our guidebook’s Discounts program. Although it has been a little more challenging to get through the red tape that the majority of resorts have in place, this trip has made it possible to add more hotel restaurants to our ever growing list of promotion participants. What this means to our customers is that when they present their copy of PEOPLE’S CHOICE GUIDE CANCUN Travel Survey Guidebook at participating establishments, they will be able to choose from exclusive promotions that are only available to our customers. After FITA, we put out a press release that we published online to announce the new program.

For a current list of promotions, visit, and bookmark, the PEOPLE’S CHOICE GUIDE CANCUN Travel Survey Guidebook Disounts Page.

Another tour included a visit to the Zocalo, the largest public square in the western hemisphere. The Zocalo is known around the world for being the place where Mexico’s President gives an annual speech every September 16th, followed by the grito de Dolores, to celebrate the country’s independence from Spain. This year was extra special, because it was Mexico’s bicentennial year, so it was extra special to be in the Zocalo when we were there. Even though it was approximately one week after the massive celebration, everyone can still feel the energy! A fact that is very interesting is the Zocalo sits directly on top of an ancient Aztec ruin site. During our visit to the square, we visited another of Mexico City’s spectacular museums, the National Institute of History and Anthropology. The museum sits adjacent to an ongoing excavation site and features exhibits that were dedicated to the Indians that inhabited the area long before the Spanish conquistadors invaded. If you are looking for an interesting place to learn about the Aztecs and Mexico's indigenous peoples, this museum is definitely a must see. Visit the following link for additional information about the Zocalo:

http://www.mexicocity.com.mx/zocal2.html

After our tour of the Zocalo, we walked a few blocks from the square to have a relaxing dinner at a restaurant called Aguila Real. The service and food were very good at this moderately priced Mexican restaurant. Our dinner included soup, flautas filled with duck in a tamarind sauce, arrachera steak and flan for dessert. However the highlight for me about this dinner was the wonderful soup known as Crema de Poblano (cream of poblano soup). I now prepare this mouth-watering soup at home on a regular basis, and it’s definitely one of the best dishes in my culinary repertoire.

Another of our several guided tours we took brought us to the house where famous artist Frida Kahlo lived. Although I was not too thrilled that her political views were reflected in her work, the art she created was quite beautiful. I highly recommend visiting this museum, if not for the artwork, then for the impressive home and guided tour of the grounds. I enjoyed relaxing in the beautiful garden where one can sit and enjoy finger food and coffee sold at the gift shop. Here are a couple of links to learn more about the museum:

http://www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/serviciosingles.html#

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo

Although the following video is a bit dizzying to watch, it shows the home and gardens that await visitors at the Frida Kahlo art museum:

For our farewell dinner, the FITA organizers arranged for our press group to dine at a restaurant called Villa Maria:

http://www.villamaria.com.mx/

While everyone was extremely satisfied with the meal, I noticed something on the menu that I found to be very enticing. A regional delicacy, and something that can be considered a “weird food” known as escamoles was on the menu. This dish essentially consists of salsa, in this case green chilis, mixed with ant eggs! How one goes about eating the escamoles is by taking a spoonful and spreading them with the salsa on a soft tortilla, making an ant egg taco. I considered myself to be extra fortunate because escamoles are only available for a limited time each year, and depending on availability during the rainy season. The following pictures were taken on my Blackberry, which is why I am including them both for reference. While the photos aren't the best, you can clearly see the white eggs mixed in with the green sauce.

When my special order arrived, several of the other journalists at the table were in amazement that anyone would know about such a dish as escamoles, let alone have the cojones to go ahead and order it. However after I tried a few and didn’t drop dead on the spot, a few people began to show curiosity, enough to ask if they can have a small taste. Of course I was more than happy to oblige as I passed the plate with the tortillas around the table. I believe it is important to try new and interesting things when traveling abroad, and in this case, more than happy since the food was so good. To my surprise, several of the women on our tour who were originally grossed out at the thought of eating insect eggs were becoming interested in trying the escamoles. In all, there were nine of us, three men and six women, all of whom sampled and enjoyed eating the land caviar! Now that I have tried grasshoppers and ant eggs, I for one cannot wait to return to Mexico to try other insect dishes, namely gusanos de maguey. These are the worms that are found in maguey plants (agave), and placed in bottles of Mezcal. They are cooked with spices and are supposed to taste like shrimp, land shrimp, delicious!

Before I go, some closing thoughts… All in all our time spent in Mexico City was nothing short of spectacular! That being said, I should add that four days is barely enough time to scratch the surface and get your feet wet. I will certainly need to return again in the future to explore more of this great world city, and I am looking forward to doing just that. Something I should have done in the first blog is thank the organizers of the FITA Travel Fair, Señor Jorge Luis Tellez of the Cancun Visitors Bureau, and a special mention to Cessie Ceratto and Teresa Villarreal of Newlink Group for organizing such an incredible experience for us in Mexico City.