Record Attendance at Carnaval Events

by Murry Page
19 Feb 
mazmessenger.com
 

Mazatlán’s mayor, Carlos Felton, told reporters that this year’s Carnaval set new records. He said that the preliminary figures provided by the Secretary of Tourism for the state of Sinaloa revealed that during the festival approximately 100,000 out of town tourists stayed overnight in the city or merely attended Carnaval events without spending the night.

The mayor said that of the 100,000 out of town tourists 50,000 stayed in hotel rooms, 20,000 stayed in family homes and apartments and the remaining 30,000 attended Carnaval events, but did not spend the night in Mazatlán.

The majority of the out of state tourists were from the states of Durango, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Monterrey and Jalisco.

Parade attendance was up this year with an estimated 300,000 viewing the Sunday parade and 250,000 attending the Tuesday parade.

The mayor noted that this year added security enhanced the security at Plaza Machado with the installation of metal detectors.

(from RióDoce)

Carnaval Parade Route May be Extended Next Year

by Maureen Dietrich
17 Feb 15
mazmessenger.com

Considering the hundreds of thousands of tourists and Mazatlecans who lined the Carnaval parade route last Sunday, the municipality is considering extending the route to begin at the Casa el Marino in Paseo Claussen instead of in front of the Fisherman´s Monument and organizing “carnavalitos” in different colonias for next year´s Carnaval.

They have noticed the popularity of the Carnaval parade is increasing, said the Mayor, and the city must adapt by opening new areas.

It is estimated that 300,000 spectators lined the Malecón Sunday afternoon for the first of Carnaval’s two parades.

(from Noroeste)

A record-breaking Carnival in Mazatlan

travelweekly.com

By Gay Nagle Myers

 

 

Mazatlan’s recent Carnival celebrations broke visitor records, with more than 650,000 revelers taking part in the five-day event, up from 500,000 visitors in 2013.

That would be good news for any destination. For Mazatlan, which has experienced rough times in recent years due to crime and cruise line pullouts in 2011, these numbers are “fantastic,” according to Frank Cordova, secretary of tourism for the state of Sinaloa, where Mazatlan is located.

Of the total visitors, 50,000 were from the U.S. and Canada, an increase of 15,000 over last year’s Carnival event.

“We have more flights and more seats this year from the U.S., with 8,000 seats per week vs. 5,000 in 2013,” he said.

The Carnival numbers mirror what has taken place thus far in Mazatlan this winter.
“We’re up 15% in international arrivals; hotel occupancy has run between 65% and 70%, which is 16% above last year for the winter season,” he said.

U.S. and Canadian visitors number more than 300,000 year to date.

“We haven’t had this many during a winter season since 2007. We’ve also had 40 cruise calls from Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Azamara Club Cruises.”

Tourism officials are pleased the way the tourist sector has come together, according to Cordova.

“We’re not stopping. We’re cleaning up the Golden Zone (hotel area), spiffing up the aquarium and generally polishing Mazatlan from end to end,” he said.

Looking ahead, Carnival dates for 2015 are Feb. 12 to 17.