David Simmonds

It is that time of year again when hordes of travel industry folks head to Mexico’s grande dame seaport town, Acapulco, for the trade show-conference-party known as Tianguis Turistico. It is the highlight event of the year where buyers and sellers of travel cruise the convention center floor, shaking hands, learning what’s new, and making deals.

President Calderon himself will kick off the three-day event. Also making presentations will be the Minister of Tourism of Mexico, Rodolfo Elizondo Torres, and Oscar Fitch, CEO of the Mexico Tourism Board, as well as various state governors and tourism promoters.

Well, the Mexico Premiere folks have to be there for the party, uh, I mean, business event. Actually, Lisa and Lola are already there early working on their tans, eating pizza tacos and camarones. I’ll be joining them on Sunday in time for us to present the first annual Nick Gallo Award that we are inaugurating this year to honor our old friend and fellow traveler, Nick. The award ceremony will be held Monday morning at the Mazatlan Hotel Association breakfast, with our generous co-sponsors, Mexico Boutique Hotels and AeroMexico.

Also on hand will be one of Nick’s sons, Alex Gallo-Brown, down from Seattle, to honor his late dad and to present the award to the winner. And, to make it even cooler, Nick’s wife, Laurie, has designed and provided the award plaque, which is a beautiful piece.

So check in for the next few days and we’ll report what’s happening and what we can expect in the coming year. You can be sure that Mexico will continue to be a major player in the tourism field.