sell Mexico City HOW TO...
An ancient city founded on a lake, today Mexico City is more than 500 square miles of energetic street life, remarkable history, beguiling art, museums and unique culture and is becoming a 'must stop' on an interior tour of the country
BY EMILY ASHWELL
MEXICO CITY is usually visited as part of a tour of the interior of Mexico or as part of a wider itinerary of Central America.
why sell?
Teotihuacan Aztec pyramids
MEXICO VISAS: Not required but you do need a tourist card, which can be completed by fi lling out an immigration form on the fl ight out. TIME ZONE: GMT -6 hours LANGUAGE: Spanish CURRENCY: Mexican Pesos (£1 = 19MXN approx) SEE:
visitmexico.com SAMPLE DEALS: Sunvil Traveller offers a 16-night tour of Mexico, taking in Mexico City and including Oaxaca, Palenque and San Cristobal de las Casas. it is priced from £3,945pp, twin share. The deal includes direct British Airways fl ights, internal fl ights, B&B accommodation and transfers.
sunvil.co.uk/traveller
ALSO:
mextours.co.uk audleytravel.com journeylatinamerica.co.uk coxandkings.co.uk
GETTING THERE:
batraveltrade.com aeromexico.com
Mexico City provides a
historic and cultural element to Mexico. Lloyd Boutcher, Director at Sunvil Traveller, said clients often visit for colonial and archaeological sites after visiting, for example, Panama for its nature. Some travel for specifi c events, such as November’s Day of the Dead festival, when Mexicans celebrate their ancestors. For agents, Mexico tours are high-value bookings with great commission.
who to?
Visitors to Mexico City
will appreciate its art, architecture, archaeology and will generally be well-travelled. It isn’t usually sold as an add-on to a beach package. Stays tend to be three to fi ve nights.
sell what? A good starting point
for visitors to Mexico City is the Zócalo, the vast main square. There they will fi nd the National Palace, Metropolitan Cathedral and a nearby excavated Aztec temple. Art is a big part of the city’s culture
and visitors to the National Palace shouldn’t miss the murals depicting the history of the country by celebrated Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Rivera was married to fellow
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and away from the Zócalo her cobalt-blue house, La Casa Azul, is now a museum containing her fi nal painting of watermelons against blue, called Viva la Vida (1954). It offers a fascinating window into the bohemian world of the painters.
Don't miss the Museum of Anthropology “Mexico City is sophisticated,
exciting and colourful. People don’t sit down to eat until 10pm”
Chapultepec Park is huge and home
to the zoo, Modern Art Museum and the famous Museum of Anthropology. Alternatively suggest the
Xochimilco Floating Gardens – a network of canals with brightly decorated boats. Clients booking longer stays can visit the Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacán , around 50km northeast of the city. For authentic Mexican food your clients need look no further than the many street stalls, but for something more upscale suggest Pujol or Izote de Patricia Quintana restaurants, both in the Polanco neighbourhood. Both are run by prestigious chefs and offer a modern take on traditional food. Many city neighbourhoods are full
of street art, late-night restaurants and beautiful architecture. A good
place to book clients is the historic Coyoacan district, with narrow cobbled streets and pretty squares. Cathy Matos, Managing Director of
Cathy Matos Mexican Tours, says one of her favourite hotels is the city’s oldest, Boutique Hotel des Cortés, off Paseo de la Reforma boulevard.
routes out BA will increase
frequency to Mexico City from four to fi ve fl ights a week on April 2. Aeroméxico started a three-times- weekly fl ight from Heathrow to Mexico City on December 15. Cathy Matos also recommends
KLM: "I fl ew with the airline on my last visit – the service was excellent and the connection through Amsterdam seamless," she said.
www.sellinglonghaul.com • March 2013 31
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