MASS-market operators are looking beyond the established resorts of Cancun and Puerto Vallarta to expand the range of beach holidays in Mexico.
Airtours becomes the first charter operator to package Acapulco when it begins a weekly flight to the destination from Manchester in summer 2000.
Holidays in the resort are featured in its main programme which went on sale in April.
Senior marketing manager long-haul Vicky Wilby said: “Acapulco has been out of favour for some years. But the downturn in the popularity of the Dominican Republic due to health and safety concerns last year created a gap in the market for a new long-haul destination.”
Airtours’ Far and Away Directory features eight properties in Acapulco from room-only to all-inclusives, starting at £499 for seven nights at the Acapulco Malibu.
Wilby expects the operator to further increase its resort presence.
She said: ” It is a fantastic place. All the hotels are on the bay, they offer superb excursions, and the beaches are brilliant.”
Although most agents will be familiar with the name, few will have sufficient knowledge of Acapulco in order to sell it with confidence.
Airtours has already recognised this, and has started an agent training programme with a week-long educational to the resort this month for 50 retail staff. It has also released a trade fact pack on the destination.
Wilby said: “Acapulco is known as a playground for the rich and famous and it will sell itself because of the name.
“But the trade hasn’t been there for a long time and it has changed a lot in the past five years.”
Thomson has expanded its programme on the Mexican Caribbean coast with the addition of Puerto Aventuras, a small beach resort south of Playa del Carmen, and the island of Cozumel.
Product planning manager long-haul Lisa Bennett said: “Developments on the Caribbean coast of the country have enabled us to broaden our appeal of the destination. Puerto Aventuras and Cozumel are more relaxed than Cancun and will suit a different type of person.”
Thomson currently features two properties in each destination with a lead-in of £755 for a week all-inclusive at the Real Club Cozumel.
The operator is also joining a number of others in featuring add-on tours to a beach holiday. It is currently trialling a pre-bookable four-day excursion to Guatemala, with visits to the ruins of Tikal, the Guatemalan rainforest and a volcano.
It costs an extra £435, including a £100 deposit paid before departure.
Sunworld is building its product range in the area with additional properties and a 14-night tour-and-stay option. The seven-night coach tour starts in Puerto Vallarta and visits some of the northern colonial cities, culminating in Mexico City. Clients then fly back to Puerto Vallarta for the beach stay.
The lead-in price for departures between November 1 and December 8 is £1,095.
Senior product manager Andrew Bevan said Sunworld had doubled capacity to Mexico between 1996-98 and expected further growth.
It currently features six hotels in Puerto Vallarta, including the newest addition, the four-star Oasis Marival, and 14 in Cancun, the latest introduction being the Hotel Sierra.