• The state was distinguished with three of the Recognitions for the Diversification of the Mexican Tourism Product 2020 granted by the federal agency.

• Chablé Resort, Hokol Vu and Hacienda Stouter de Peón will receive their awards during Tianguis Turístico 2020 confab in Mérida, Yucatán.

Mexico City, March 9, 2020 — Three innovative Yucatecan tourism product and service providers have been awarded Recognition in the Diversification of Mexican Tourism Product 2020 by Mexico’s federal tourism agency, SECTUR. The recognitions validate Yucatán’s ongoing domestic and international promotional strategy, part of the economic growth plan devised and implemented by Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal, the Secretary of Tourism Promotion of the State (SEFOTUR) and private sector stakeholders.

These recognitions were granted by Mexico’s federal Tourism Secretary through the Undersecretary of Tourism Innovation and Development. The winners, selected by a jury comprised of SECTUR members, were announced on March 6. Yucatán is home to the first-place finishers in three categories: Hokol Vuh, a Mayan culinary journey, in Gastronomic Tourism; Sunset Tour of Hacienda Sotuta de Peón Hotel, in Meetings Tourism; and Chablé Yucatan Resort, in Premium Tourism. Awards and certificates will be presented to the three March 25 at Tourism Tianguis 2020 in state capital Mérida.

Hokol Vuh is an event created by and featuring world-renowned chefs that seeks to promote the roots of the Mayan culture through gastronomy and aims to give back to living Mayan communities. It does so by raising funds to support the preservation of this culture, allocating resources to the Haciendas del Mundo Maya Foundation, an organization that works with regional communities to implement economic and social development projects.

Hacienda Sotuta de Peón is a henequen hacienda that, through its experiences in groups and events, in recent years has distinguished itself in the meetings tourism market, helping the state of Yucatán capture events of ever greater relevance in the industry. Guests are amazed by the majesty and beauty of Sotuta de Peón, which embodies Yucatecan values ​​and traditions, transporting guests back in time to experience the cultivation and processing of the important henequen plant, also known as “green gold.”

Chablé Yucatán Resort is located in a unique environment in the heart of the Mayan jungle, just 35 minutes from historical Mérida. This resort is a refuge that seeks to redefine well-being, promoting the connection of being with nature, helping to maintain a healthy physical, mental, spiritual and emotional balance. It is a retreat that reconnects, restores and shows guests the fusion between the elegance and sophistication of the haciendas era with Mayan traditions.

Michelle Fridman Hirsch, head of SEFOTUR, emphasized that Yucatán’s current administration, from the start and as mandated by the governor, has been working on developing new products. In addition of being an incentive for attracting more tourism and increasing the rate of visitor overnight stays in the state, it’s a source of income for the Yucatecan people,. Therefore, the task of working on the generation of multiple new products in the six regions of the state was undertaken.

“We are very happy that Yucatecan products are receiving awards and prizes that guarantee their quality, and we will continue to promote [them], through the promotion strategies of the SEFOTUR, so that they are strengthened and [are] thus a more solid base of the great value chain for the Yucatan tourism industry,” she said.

This distinction awarded by SECTUR to providers and operators of tourist services and products in Mexico is intended to recognize initiatives that have contributed to the diversification and innovation of national tourism product and to increase the expenditure and/or stay of the tourist in the country’s tourism destinations.

In this, federal (with the exception of the SECTUR), state and municipal authorities, as well as communities, companies and civil society organizations, that have contributed to the diversification and innovation of the tourism product, tangible and intangible components that include: Resources and attractions; Equipment and infrastructure; Services; Recreational activities; Images and symbolic values ​​that offer benefits capable of attracting certain groups of consumers, because they satisfy their motivations and expectations related to their free time and the development of tourism activities that enrich the products.

The awards will take place March 25 at Tourism Tianguis 2020, running March 22 to 25 in Mérida. This year’s Tianguis will be, without a doubt, one of the world’s leading tourism industry meetings, set to leave a mark both for innovative development and for the enormous anticipation generated since the venue was announced.

Mérida, capital of Yucatán, is ready to host thousands of visitors from more than 40 countries and to showcase not only its great architectural, cultural, natural and gastronomic wonders but also its great warmth and friendly people.