'We are so proud to be the homeport for Magellan and look forward to offering its passengers an incredible experience in Acapulco,' Jesus Radilla, undersecretary of tourism for Guerrero, said at Seatrade Cruise Global last week. 'This speaks volumes about our confidence in growing our port and is the first step in many to come to put Acapulco at the top of the Pacific homeport destinations once again.'
As earlier reported, Cruise & Maritime Voyages is designing a program exclusively for Mexicans, with the 1,400-passenger Magellan to operate a short season of Mexican Riviera sailings in early 2019 under the Cruceros Marítimos Vacacionales banner.
This winter debut season of eight seven-night cruises, stretching through March, will embark at Acapulco on Sundays. CMV has indicated it plans to extend the season in 2020.
At Seatrade Cruise Global Radilla was accompanied by CMV officials as well as destination leaders including Alex Casarrubias, director general of API Acapulco, and Abraham Garay, director of the Acapulco Destination Marketing Office.
They detailed how Acapulco is rebounding from a slump in cruise business as it overcomes past concerns about security. The port handled 32 cruise calls in 2017, up from 18 in 2016, a 78% increase.
A whopping more than $1bn has been invested to improve Acapulco's touristic offering, including an extreme zip-line adventure, hotel renovations, a new medical center and a tennis stadium. Of course, classic draws like the world-famous La Quebrada cliff divers, palm-lined beaches, shopping, dining and nightlife remain.
Additionally, the city will debut a new airport terminal in two months that will ease passenger flow and increase arrivals capacity.
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