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News and Events
Read why the Riviera Maya is developing into one of the best travel destinations on earth. Learn also what is happening in the region. Whether it be festivals, weather or activities, you'll be sure to find it here, so check back often.

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Date: 10/3/2008 10:59:47 PM
Mexicans boo Mayan pyramids concert by Great Tenor
MERIDA, Mexico - Placido Domingo's concert at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza this Saturday night is being billed as "the world's greatest tenor at one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World," a claim few lovers of opera or history would dispute.

But some Mexicans question whether the show should go on at all. In fact, archaeologists are pressing for criminal charges against the organizers, reviving a debate over how to use treasured ancient sites.

It's a balancing act many countries face as they try to promote and protect their cultural heritage.

Date: 7/9/2008 9:23:02 PM
Mayan Riviera offers upscale accommodation
Within the past five years, a string of hotel and properties oriented towards the very wealthy have popped in the Mayan Riviera.

"Before, it was more the backpackers," says Thomas Lloyd, a US real estate agent based in Playa. "Now there are golf courses everywhere. The profile is changing a lot."

According to Mexico tourism agency, Fonatur, 83% of the 34,000 hotel rooms in the Riviera Maya are rated five-star. Typically, brands such as Rosewood, Nizuc, St Regis, Banyan Tree and Capella offer properties within gated developments that combine select, secluded beachfront hotels and restaurants with housing, leisure facilities and golf courses designed by high-profile US architects.

"The willingness of the local workforce to provide high levels of service has been a key factor in the trend," says Horst Shulze, the chief executive of Capella. "I don't think I have had a better experience anywhere."

Date: 1/22/2008 10:54:53 PM
Ancient Maya scarified boys not virgin girls
MEXICO CITY - The victims of human sacrifice by Mexico's ancient Mayans, who threw children into water-filled caverns, were likely boys and young men not virgin girls as previously believed, archeologists said on Tuesday.

The Maya built soaring temples and elaborate palaces in the jungles of Central America and southern Mexico before the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s.

Maya priests in the city of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan peninsula sacrificed children to petition the gods for rain and fertile fields by throwing them into sacred sinkhole caves, known as "cenotes."

The caves served as a source of water for the Mayans and were also thought to be an entrance to the underworld.

Date: 9/30/2007 2:13:51 PM
Mayan Riviera returns to normal after Dean
MEXICO, D.F. - After the first evaluation of the aftermath of hurricane Dean, the tourist destinations of Cancun and the Mayan Riviera, as well as those of the state of Yucatan, authorities have confirmed that the zone did not suffer damages in its tourist infrastructure.

"Fortunately the tourist infrastructure in the region is in perfect conditions and in capacity to continue offering its services to the millions of tourists that visit that zone of the country each year", indicated Francisco Lopez Mena, Director of the Mexico Tourism Board.

According to Mexican officials, zones affected by the hurricane are functioning with normality, including the famous tourist spots of Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Puerto Aventura, Puerto Morelos and Chetumal.

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