Tom Tullius. General Manager of the Meliá Puerto Vallarta Hotel

Q. What are the areas that you see with greater chances to bloom and put up with Nuevo Vallarta’s competition in the state of Nayarit?

A. The Marina Vallarta area is the most exclusive of all in Puerto Vallarta and the one that truly bears watching in terms of expansion, I mean, both the marina and the golf course located in this same area. On the other hand, nearness to romantic Puerto Vallarta gives it a touch of its own. That’s what really makes a difference and makes us stronger.

Q. What are Puerto Vallarta’s hoteliers doing to bar those spanking-new resorts built in Nuevo Vallarta from doing them one better?

A. This hotel is undergoing a refurbishment process that started out a couple of years ago. Other hotels here have followed suit.

Q. What are you going to do to further advertise the destination both in the U.S. and in Europe?

A. This destination has been all the rage up in the States for quite some time now. As to the European market, I think we should go back to square one and give it a name for what Puerto Vallarta is and has been, instead of plain Vallarta because Europeans can’t tell the difference. It’s important that Europeans, who are very much into culture and come from so far away, could really get a look at what Mexican life is all about, the Mexican ambience. And that’s what Puerto Vallarta is like. It’s not the case of Nuevo Vallarta with only one beach and a few hotels.

Q. What specialties has your hotel developed?

A. We’ve zeroed in on family travelers with kids in tow, creating some spaces just for children, game arcades with PlayStation kits, small-scale amusement parks, climbing wall, batting cage, and so forth. There’s also a club for kids under 4 years of age, mini club for children between 5 and 12, and a youngster’s club for teenagers. We’ve really managed to specialize in children

in this destination.

Our hotel has 360 rooms and is slotted in a good strip. It’s just a five-minute drive from the airport and even shorter from downtown Puerto Vallarta, equipped with conveniences and transportation means such as buses and cabs that shuttle you around town in just a few minutes for only 4 pesos (in the case of the buses) and 30 pesos for taxis. They take you everywhere around Puerto Vallarta.