Sunset World Resorts & Vacation Experiences announced that Hacienda Tres Rios Resort, Spa & Nature Park was awarded a Green Globe High Achievement Award for its environmental conservation commitments. This award was given to only six hotels in the world.

During the traditional Three Kings breakfast held for the media in Cancun and the Riviera Maya, the tourism group announced the acquisition of this coveted award by the Riviera Maya ecotourism resort. In addition, a 2012 schedule of important cultural, environmental and sports events in order to boost tourism in the Mexican Caribbean was presented.

The Brand Director of Sunset World Group Annie Arroyo reported that Green Globe presented the High Achievement to Hacienda Tres Rios for achieving the highest score in the 320 indicators in environmental, social and cultural sustainability in the region of Mexico and Latin America.

The sustainability certification system developed exclusively for the travel and tourism industry also granted this recognition to; Anantara Seminyak Resort & Spa, Bali (Asia / Pacific), Club Med Djerba La Douce, Tunisia (Africa), Hotel Concorde Berlin , Germany (Europe), Mövenpick Dead Sea, Jordan (Middle East) and Bucuti Beach Resort, Aruba (Caribbean).

Last year Hacienda Tres Rios reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability when they received their third consecutive Green Globe Certification for excellent environmental performance. The property, designed and operated by Sunset World, met 96 percent of the 320 indicators examined by the certification company, represented in over 90 countries, which was the highest percentage worldwide.

Sunset World Resorts & Vacation Experiences also announced events scheduled for 2012 promoting sports, culture and greater awareness for the care of the environment.

It was reported that the tour group will participate in the Bilin Bilin Cup this year in May 2011, hosted by the Sunset Ocean Spa Hotel, with the participation of 16 teams from Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala and Venezuela. It will be the sixth year for the competition and it is expected to generate more sports tourism.

The 2nd Sprint Triathlon Riviera Maya is another event scheduled to take place at Hacienda Tres Rios. Last March approximately 300 athletes participated and the event was covered by Televisa and TVC Sports.

Sunset World announced that once again they will participate in the celebration of World Wetlands Day, which falls in the month of February. Activities include the reforestation of mangroves and promoting awareness with students about the importance of these ecosystems. In the past four years, the Tres Ríos Nature Park nursery has produced and reforested more than 90 thousand mangrove trees.

For the third consecutive year the hotels and tourist properties will participate in the Earth Hour initiative by turning off their lights for one hour as a tangible commitment to raising awareness of the importance of preserving the planet earth.

Other events scheduled for 2012 will be the second edition of the Environmental Expressions Forum, which last year brought civil society groups together to exchange experiences in environmental preservation. In addition the details are being finalized for a 2nd bicultural meeting, which in 2011 joined representatives of the Mayan and Tibetan cultures in an unprecedented meeting full of magic and mysticism.

Finally, among the social and human development activities, the 3rd annual Stars by Nature Contest conducted in coordination with the Golden Years Club will take place in December to encourage the elderly to practice healthy living and arts and cultural activities.

Sunset World Operations strengthened with new appointments:

Sunset World Resorts & Vacation Experiences announced the appointment of German Fayyad Sierra as the new General Director and announced the appointment of new directors as part of its plans for growth and consolidation as the best Mexican Caribbean vacation experience for 2012. The tour group named Luis Alfonso Oñate Hernandez as Director of Operations and Oscar Quiroz Orbe as Executive Corporate Chef, a newly created position in the group.
Another change in the area of ​​food and beverages is the hiring of Jaime Gonzalez Izazaga as Food and Beverage Manager of Hacienda Tres Rios Resort, Spa & Nature Park and Sunset Fishermen. In addition Paola Flores joins the Vacation Club group as Manager of Sales and Promotion for RCI.

Sunset World Resorts and Vacation Experiences was recognized for its commitment to high quality service by receiving five Distinctive H accreditations for its restaurants at the group’s eco-friendly Riviera Maya resort, Hacienda Tres Rios.

The Director of Operations for Sunset World Resorts and Vacation Experiences German Fayad was responsible for handing over the certificates to the management of the restaurants: Casa las Islas, Hacienda Grill, El Alebrije, Agave Tequila Bar in El Alebrije, and the staff restaurant Sabor Mexico. The accreditation is awarded based on the highest standards of quality of the Hygienic Management Program for Food and Drinks.

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The tourism corporation—Sunset World—announced a $26 million dollar investment that will expand its range of accommodations to six resorts and more than a thousand hotel rooms in Cancun.

Comprised of 22 tourism companies, Sunset World announced a $26 million dollar investment that will expand its range of accommodations to six resorts and more than a thousand hotel rooms in Cancun and the Riviera Maya.

The multi-million dollar investment will add 80 new units to expand the Sunset Fisherman Beach Resort in the Riviera Maya and a complete renovation of the Royal Sunset Beach Resort and its 264 rooms, said Orlando Arroyo Marroquín, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Sunset World. The investment is not including the scheduled construction of a new eco-luxury hotel with 450 rooms in the Riviera Maya.

The announcement was made during the XXXV Tourism Acapulco Tianguis, marking Sunset World’s position as one of the most important resort corporations in the Mexican Caribbean with 22 years in the industry.

The company recently incorporated two new boutique hotels in Cancun, the Laguna Suites Golf + Spa and the Ocean Spa Hotel, which were purchased and remodeled with an $11 million dollar investment. The exclusive tourism group also proudly announced the completion of the first phase of Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort, Spa & Nature Park in the Riviera Maya—a 273-room complex with a $60 million dollar investment.

With these new acquisitions, Sunset World will own six hotels and more than a thousand rooms with the Sunset Royal Beach Resort, Sunset Lagoon Resort & Marina, Laguna Suites Golf + Spa, Ocean Spa Hotel, Sunset Fishermen Beach Resort and Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort, Spa & Nature park—providing luxury and comfort in Cancun and the Riviera Maya.

Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort is the company’s most luxurious and ecological resort. With a 10-year master plan, Sunset World plans to build a total of more than 1,700 hotel rooms and residences available for whole or timeshare ownership in the 326-acre Tres Ríos natural reserve in the Riviera Maya. Future tourist developments in Cozumel and Isla Mujeres have also been included in the long-term plans of the company.

Sunset World was created in 1998 by Orlando Arroyo Marroquín with the financial support of visionary men in Cancun such as Romárico Arroyo Marroquín, Arturo Marcelín and Jorge Pallas Caceres.

In addition to modern hotels offering world-class services, the company offers the best vacation club ownership in Mexico and the Caribbean, awarded as such for 19 consecutive years with a Gold Crown by RCI, global leader in vacation ownership exchange.

Sunset World has become one of the most solid tourism corporations in the Mexican Caribbean. Due to its successful marketing, vertical and horizontal operation systems and direct sales, these strategies have allowed the hotelier company to grow and generate more than 5,000 jobs in Mexico, U.S., India, Philippines and England. Other important companies that fall under the Sunset World Corporation include the Marina Club Lagoon, the travel agency Sunrise Travel, car rental agency Royal Rent a Car, and its own progressive marketing firm.

14 ARDY Entries Selected As Finalists For 2010 Gala

Brand Tango, a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based marketing, technology and design firm, has had 13 Advertising and Promotion entries selected as finalists in the American Resort Development Association’s ARDY awards competition. In addition, Larry Talley, Brand Tango’s vice president of application development, is a finalist in the Management and Administration category.

“This is a wonderful way to celebrate Brand Tango’s fifth anniversary; it’s our best showing ever,” says Joe Russoniello, president and co-founder. “We started the agency to provide a much-needed service to the vacation ownership industry, and it’s a thrill to see our work recognized.”

Brand Tango’s work for Blue Strawberry Resorts, Casa Dorado, Floridays Club, GlobeQuest, Hacienda Tres Rios, Royal Palm Vacations, Royal Resorts, and Sunset World—as well as its own electronic newsletter—all received ARDA honors. “We’re grateful to these companies for entrusting us with their brand and image,” says James Kluetz, vice president and creative director. “In these challenging times, we know that what matters is return on investment, and these projects delivered.”

In addition to the Advertising and Promotions awards, Larry Talley, Brand Tango’s vice president of application development, is a finalist in the Management and Administration category. Talley has created a proprietary Web-based software system that integrates all facets of a developers operation, including all lead and contact management, call centers, referral programs, reservations, maintenance fee and mortgage billing, as well as loyalty points programs. In 2009, his team designed several Web sites, including two for Royal Resorts Caribbean and Sunset World that were selected as ARDY finalists.

“Brand Tango has been a staunch supporter of ARDA and the timeshare industry overall,” says Howard Nusbaum, ARDA president. “We heartily congratulate them on their success as they celebrate this important milestone and wish them luck at the ARDY awards gala in Las Vegas on March 17.”

Brand Tango is a comprehensive marketing, design, and technology company with clients in timeshare/real estate/hospitality, consumer products and services, and financial services. Relying on their decades of combined expertise, its principals and staff help clients define and achieve sales goals and return-on-investment objectives by addressing integrated marketing needs in an efficient, unbiased, and knowledgeable manner with a solid, multi-faceted, results-oriented strategy.

Brand Tango specializes in new-customer kits, loyalty programs, member-retention materials, and annual reports for vacation ownership, hospitality and leisure clients, and for other consumer-products companies. Selected clients include Floridays Club, Pacific Monarch Resorts, OPTX 20/20, GBS International, Premier Estate Properties, Tres Rios Resort, Sunset World, Premier Cancun Vacations, and Casa Dorado.

To view examples of Brand Tango’s recent work, visit www.brand-tango.com. For an online demonstration of Brand Tango’s Web 2.0 customer relationship management system, Tango, go to www.gettango.com.

Big Winners Include Fairmont, Marriott, American Airlines and Host Hacienda Tres Rios; Awards Help Traveling Public Find Best in Class

Hacienda Tres Rios, an all-inclusive luxury resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, was the setting for the 2009 World Travel Awards’ North and Central America regional ceremony, held on the warm, tropical evening of September 21, 2009.

The World Travel Awards (WTA), described as the Oscars of the global travel and tourism industry, acknowledge the “best of the best” out of more than 500 nominees. The event was held in partnership with Hacienda Tres Rios, Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau, Yucatan Holidays, Yucatan Travel, RCI and Vive Mexico. Luminaries attending the event included Mexico Secretary of Tourism Sara Latife Ruiz Chavez, who also serves as governor of the state of Quintana Roo. In a statement appearing in the printed guide to the award festivities, she acknowledged the WTA organizers and sponsors, thanking them for “bringing here this important event which consolidates the image of Mexico and Quintana Roo within the world tourism map.”

The host resort had been nominated for recognition in several categories and proved its world-class status, taking the top nod as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Green Hotel and Mexico and Central America’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort. Opened in November 2008, Hacienda Tres Ríos is the first resort of five at Tres Ríos. Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort boasts 273 suites featuring native materials and offering breathtaking views of the turquoise Caribbean Sea.

The unique onsite Tres Ríos Nature Park is open exclusively for resort guests, who can enjoy guided nature tours through 326 acres of pristine tropical jungle criss-crossed by three fresh-water rivers, dotted by 10 cenotes and home to 90 species of fauna and 120 species of flora.

While it is easy to see why Hacienda Tres Rios was named top all-inclusive, the elements that make an exceptional green operation blend seamlessly into the guest experience, striking a delicate balance of luxury holidays and conservation. This eco-luxury resort, located in a nature preserve, was constructed as part of a master plan that included more than two years of comprehensive environmental studies. The architectural design was based on rigorous environmental criteria and the buildings were placed on areas of lower environmental value. What’s more, in 2006 the Mexican government recognized Hacienda Tres Rios as a “regional and national model for sustainable tourism development.”

“In less than one year since opening,” said Tres Rios CEO Orlando Arroyo Marroquín in the guide, his resort “has become internationally renowned as the first luxury sustainable tourism development in Mexico.”

This commitment to ecological conservation “has garnered the recognition of the Mexican government as well as the major travel industry events in England, Spain and Germany, where we have been invited to share our experience as a case study,” he continued. “With the support of the important international organizations such as Green Globe International, World Heritage Alliance of the United Nations, Sustainable Travel International and Rainforest Alliance, Hacienda Tres Rios is a clear example that Quintana Roo and Mexico are ever working towards improving tourism and a healthy environment.”

Area Well Represented
But Hacienda Tres Rios isn’t the only reason to visit the Yucatan Peninsula. The area was well represented on the awards platform, winning several other WTA honors. Among them were Selvatica Puerto Morelos as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Adventure Park; Tulum, Mexico as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Beach; Terminal Punta Langosta, Cozumel, Mexico as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Cruise Port; Chichen Itza, Yucatan as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Cultural Heritage Destination; and Cancun as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Destination.

In other awards, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts bagged four North American awards including Canada’s Leading Golf Resort, Canada’s Leading Ski Resort, Canada’s Leading Business Hotel and North America’s Leading Golf Resort. The Leading Hotel Brand for North America went to Marriott Hotels & Resorts, and North America’s Leading Destination went to Miami.

WTA crowned American Airlines as North America’s Leading Airline and Mexicana Airlines as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airline. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City were named North America’s and Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airports, with The Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey (California) and Camino Real Aeropuerto (Mexico City) taking the honors for North America’s and Mexico & Central America’s Leading Airport Hotels.

The full list of winners for the World Travel Awards North and Central Americas can be found by logging on to www.worldtravelawards.com

How Winners Are Chosen
The World Travel Awards were launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognize excellence in the world’s travel and tourism industry. Thousands of votes are cast by travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries across the globe. Votes are cast globally by fellow industry professionals in 919 different categories. In 2009, WTA opened the voting to the traveling public as well.

The inherent principles under which all nominations are judged are:
• Consistent overall business performanceand success
• Understanding visitor needs and expectations for a supreme customer experience
• High levels of customer satisfaction
• Valuing personnel
• Excellent internal and external communications
• Enterprising product expansion and development
• Fostering innovation, creativity and enterprise
• Expansion and development, and
• Team work that helps a company to deliver longer-term corporate vision

In 2009, regional ceremonies have also taken place in Dubai (Middle East region) and Durban, South Africa (Africa region). The European Ceremony is scheduled for October 17 at Praia D’ El Rey Golf & Beach Resort, north of Lisbon, Portugal. South America, Caribbean, Asia, Australasia and the Indian Ocean Ceremonies are slated for November 7 at the Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott Hotel in London.

The 2009 Grand Final of World Travel Awards is set for the following night in the same venue. “This year’s winners can display the official World Travel Awards symbol with pride on their sales and marketing literature,” explained Graham Cooke, president of the World Travel Awards, “offering travelers a cast-iron assurance that what they are buying is a guarantee of travel excellence.”

Travel excellence such as provided at Hacienda Tres Rios. “It seems fitting,” said Cooke, “to celebrate the North & Central Americas awards ceremony in this beautiful destination, which sets the bar for the global travel and tourism industry, and creates hope for many young travel professionals.”

Top 5 Facts About the World Travel Awards

1. 3,600 travel companies, destinations and organizations are nominated every year
2. An average of 167,000 travel agents and industry professionals record their votes every year
3. Ten awards categories are dedicated to sustainable tourism
4. World Travel Awards nominations are decided by an independent panel of industry experts
5. Judging criteria takes into account every aspect of the business including overall performance, product
development, innovation, creativity and customer satisfaction

Perspective magazine Editor Matt McDaniel represented Perspective International at the 2009 World Travel Awards’ North and Central America regional ceremony, held September 21, 2009 at Hacienda Tres Rios, an all-inclusive luxury resort in Mexico’s Riviera Maya.

The World Travel Awards (WTA), described as the Oscars of the global travel and tourism industry, acknowledge the “best of the best” out of more than 500 nominees. The event was held in partnership with Hacienda Tres Rios, Cancun Convention & Visitors Bureau, Yucatan Holidays, Yucatan Travel, RCI and Vive Mexico. Luminaries attending the event included Mexico Secretary of Tourism Sara Latife Ruiz Chavez, who also serves as governor of the state of Quintana Roo.

The host resort had been nominated for recognition in several categories and proved its world-class status, taking the top nod as Mexico & Central America’s Leading Green Hotel and Mexico and Central America’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort.

Opened in November 2008, Hacienda Tres Ríos is the first resort of five at Tres Ríos. Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort boasts 273 suites featuring native materials and offering breathtaking views of the turquoise Caribbean Sea.

While it is easy to see why Hacienda Tres Rios was named top all-inclusive, the elements that make an exceptional green operation blend seamlessly into the guest experience, striking a delicate balance of luxury holidays and conservation. This eco-luxury resort, located in a  nature preserve, was constructed as part of a master plan that included more than two years of comprehensive environmental studies. The architectural design was based on rigorous environmental criteria and the buildings were placed on areas of lower environmental value. What’s more, in 2006 the Mexican government recognized Hacienda Tres Rios as a “regional and national model for sustainable tourism development.”

Feature-length articles appearing in the October editions of Perspective International Ltd’s publications, Perspective and Owners Perspective, further describe eco-luxury master plan at Tres Rios resort, detail the criteria for recognition by the WTA and how it benefits the traveling public, and provide a list of additional winners.