Las Vegas casinos, shopping, entertainment and other attractions could be a mere direct flight away from Merida if tourism promoters in both cities are successful with negotiations currently underway with Aeromexico.
Already one of the most popular destinations for Yucatecan travelers, Las Vegas would be served directly from Merida under a plan unveiled recently by Yucatan’s Tourism Secretary and the Nevada city’s Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
Las Vegas tourism entrepreneurs consider Merida as one of their emerging markets because more Yucatecans are interested in traveling for shopping and entertainment in “Sin City”.
“Las Vegas has an average of 900 shopping complexes and outlet style malls. In addition, in the near future, Merida will have shopping malls in the style of Las Vegas,” said Fernando Hurtado, LVCVA International Sales Manager.
“We want to leave behind the idea of visiting Las Vegas only for the casinos. It’s time to focus on other market niches, such as entertainment,” he said.
The Yucatecan capital was chosen as one of four destinations, together with Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara, for this year’s Las Vegas’ Mexico sales blitz with tour operators and travel agents.
“Las Vegas received more than 1.2 million Mexicans in 2016, keeping Mexico as our second source of international visitors after Canada,” Hurtado said at the Merida event.
The executive added that thanks to direct flights from Mexico’s main cities through Aeroméxico, Interjet, Volaris and recently Viva Aerobus, Las Vegas is increasingly accessible to the Mexican market.
Aeromexico/Delta, United and American Airlines currently operate direct flights linking Merida with Atlanta, Houston, Miami and Dallas in the U.S.
Source: Punto Medio and other local news reports
