Cozumel News September 1st, 2014

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Cozumel News September 1st, 2014:

Happy Labor Day United States of America! Today we have New Parking Regulations on Melgar, Upcoming Sporting Events to Rescue Cozumel Hotels, Punta Sur’s Turtle Rescue Program, for you shopping enthusiasts, On-Line Shopping Sale (written by Mexico Daily News) and Aurita’s Corner, premieres, featuring frequently asked questions about the Sun.

New Parking Regulations on Melgar

An agreement has finally been reached between the City of Cozumel and the Meter Company Olympus Meter SA de CV, as the meters have been removed from Melgar Avenue all along the boardwalk as of Saturday.

I personally noticed an increase in the monitoring of the meters in the days leading up to the elimination of the meters. It would be interesting to find out how many license plates where removed this past week for parking violations, prior to the removal of the meters. The meters were totally anti-user. The sunlight prevented you from reading the display to know if your money had registered, never the less how much time you had, the instructions were hard to read and understand, and frequently the machines ran out of paper and you had no proof of payment. I once pumped 80 pesos into one meter, did not get reimbursed and did not get a receipt. No idea if it registered, I could not see the display because of the glare from the sunlight.

Enough of my editorial on the meters, now what do we do? According to a press release, we can now only park on the Melgar boardwalk between six at night to nine in the morning between the Airport Boulevard to Avenida Andrés Quintana Roo. Parking Bays between Avenida Melgar and 10^th will be designated for car, motorcycles and Handicap parking by the Department of Public Safety and Traffic.

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Sporting Events to Rescue Cozumel Hotels

The influx of tourist has fallen, but the hotel industry is looking forward to a big “save” in the low season from upcoming sporting events.

The Ministry of Tourism of the State of Quintana Roo is calculating that the following sporting events will bring the following number of tourist to Cozumel:

The Ironman Metlife, on September 21st, estimated arrival of 2,000 Triathletes.

The World Cup International Triathlon Union (ITU), on October 5th & 6th, estimated arrival of 1,000 participants.

Ford Ironman on November 30^th, estimated arrival of 2,400 Triathletes.

Gran Fondo New York race, on November 23rd, an estimated 2,000 cyclists who will travel 80 to 160 miles. This event takes place on the island for the first time.

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Punta Sur’s Tourist Turtle Program

For almost three decades Cozumel has emerged as a pioneer in the conservation of sea turtles, an activity that is done through environmental education, observation and liberation.  A major conservation action, which has also become a tourist attraction, is the observation and release of these charismatic animals that come to the beach on average three or four times each season, over six to seven months to deposit 100 to 120 eggs.

The Punta Sur Cozumel Ecotourism Park is one of the areas where they carry out these actions. Tourists can also be part of the protection, through observation and release of two particular species: the Green Turtle and the Loggerhead, the latter endangered, reports Notimex.

Ecotourism Parque Punta Sur charges $70 US to participate in the program. The higher charge is because their groups consist of no more than 10 people, allowing greater control of activity and a more personalized experience.

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Online shopping to get a boost with Mexico version of Cyber Monday

Mexico News Daily | Friday, August 29, 2014

Internet retailers in Mexico are looking for a big boost in sales next week with this country’s version of Cyber Monday, although instead of one day it’s four.

The first-ever Internet shopping event will see the participation of the country’s major online retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Liverpool, Mercado Libre, Dafiti, Linio, El Palacio del Hierro and many others.

Everything about the event is Mexican with the exception of the name, Hot Sale Mexico, and the concept, which originated in the United States where Cyber Monday, held on the Monday after Thanksgiving, was launched in 2005.

Other Latin American countries have also adopted the concept, with online shopping events such as Cyber Chile, which began in 2011, and Cyber Colombia, which debuted a year later.

In Mexico the purpose is the same as everywhere else: to promote online shopping and the use of electronic commerce. The Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO) is the principal organizer of Hot Sale Mexico.

“With this event we are looking to bring in new users and motivate those have already bought online,” said AMVO president Eric Pérez-Grovas.

He said figures show that more than 50% of Internet users have made an online purchase, and 97% plan on returning to do more.

Hot Sale Mexico runs from September 5-8 and several dozen retailers and service providers have signed up to participate.

Cyber Monday in the U.S. generated sales of US $1.465 billion in 2012, up 17% from the year before.

The Mexico sale also has the support of the Mexican Internet Association (AMIPCI) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

Source: El Mañana (sp)

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Aurita’s Corner:

There has been something missing in the Sun that my readers have pointed out. As many of you might know I started the first pages in English in Cozumel’s oldest newspaper, Tiempo de Cozumel. My articles in “News Cozumel” for years have been filled with personal experiences on the island that led to the “how to” (living in Cozumel) articles. A connection between my readers and I was created as I wrote about what I know best, and shared my opinion on everything.

To date, in the news section of The Cozumel Sun, I give you the news that I hear and read about translated to the best of my ability. The information is as reported and on the rare occasions that I have added an opinion, I have identified it as such. I have felt guilty on those occasions trying to keep the material in the Sun as professional as possible. Yet, as some of my readers have pointed out, that personal touch is missing on a regular basis. Hence, I bring to you “Aurita’s Corner,” my own editorial section. By the way, my friends and family call me Aurita (little Aura).

The first edition of “Aurita’s Corner” I will use to answer the most frequently asked question about the Cozumel Sun, “How often I put out a new issue?” The answer is I try to publish two to three times per week.

It is not a very good marketing strategy, but let me explain. I search the local papers and other Medias for stories that I feel are of interest to the English Speaking Community that are living in Cozumel full or part time, visit Cozumel Often, or are intending to move to or visit Cozumel in the future. My audience also includes Mexican Citizens that read and speak English.

The island of Cozumel depends on 95% of its income from tourism. Actually, in my opinion it is 100%, the businesses that serve the local people are indirectly also affected by the tourism market. It is taboo to write anything that will in the eyes of the government, businesses large and small, and service providers such as the Taxi drivers,   scare away the tourists. You can’t argue with that, remember the flu scare? But then on the other hand, all one has to do in this day and age is to have on-line access and world events are an open book.

Then there is the issue of what is appropriate. The newspapers here have no censorship of the press when it comes to dead bodies or nudity. Many times days go by with one, a tragic report of a motorcycle or car accident after another, a suicide, or a story that is political in nature. I do not want to report daily tragedies and as visitors to this beautiful Country we are forbidden to participate in anything political, so why go there?

Crime in Cozumel, you bet! Gone is the old Cozumel of yesteryear with a small population that all knew each other and did not lock their doors. It is heartwarming to hear the stories of Cozumel natives of how everyone looked after one another. If you think about it, our countries had those good old days also. Ours have been gone for many years, Cozumel, not so long ago.  Yet, in my opinion Cozumel is still safer than most places back home and definitely the safest place in Mexico.

As it stands now, sometimes two days in a row there are informative, interesting, and maybe even educational things in the news to report. I will translate and interpret and two, even three days in a row the The Cozumel Sun will put out a new issue. Other times five days might go by with absolutely nothing good to report.

“Why do I not have a Set Day (or Days) to publish the Paper?” Let’s say something happened on Monday afternoon and I only publish on Monday and Friday Mornings. By Friday, it is old news, most of my readers would have read about it in the social network by then, or the just announced event might be over. Things change rapidly in Mexico, a piece of crucial information might not get to my readers on time to prevent an infraction or too late for the readers to take advantage of a window of opportunity.

“What Happened to the five W’s and One H?” In journalism 101, many, many years ago I remember being taught that all good stories answer the questions, who (was involved?), what (happened?), Where (did it take Place?), When (did it take place?), Why (did it happen?), and How (did it happen?). If anyone of these is missing from an article in The Cozumel Sun, it was not answered by the local news media. I leave you with one of my favorite from Rudyard Kipling:

Have a wonderful Day!

September Events

MÉXICO INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION SEPTEMBER 15TH -16TH

FIESTAS DE SAN MIGUEL ARCHANGEL SEPTEMBER 20TH – 29TH

IRONMAN 70.3 SEPTEMBER 21ST

WORLD TOURISM DAY SEPTEMBER 27TH – 28TH

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Aura Holguin-Resch

987-119-4956 Cell

120-5903 Casa

386-445-8702 USA

auraholguin@thecozumelsun.com