Get to know the interior Mexican city of Guadalajara
The tourism trade in the interior Mexican city of Guadalajara is getting some airborne assistance from Flair Airlines, which has just begun linking Toronto with a part of Mexico seen as the birthplace of many iconic features of the Latin American country.
Flair began the new service Friday, offering up to three frequencies a week in fall/winter 2024 and spring 2025. Fares start at $148 one-way. The airline already has Vancouver-Guadalajara service.
Andrea Vargas of the Guadalajara Convention & Visitors Bureau told a Sept. 10 Toronto gathering that Flair’s latest route is a “dream come true” for her organization, Guadalajara is the birthplace of mariachi music, while the surrounding state of Jalisco is the home of tequila, and the Toronto event was held in a Mexican bar that served participants tequila and entertained them with mariachi musicians.
“You know mariachi, you know tequila,” Vargas told those on hand. “(But) Guadalajara is so much more than that… We have so many things there.”
Vargas said her city hosts numerous festivals, including ones revolving around beer, wine and music. “We try to keep traditions in Jalisco,” she added of the state.
Accommodation options in Guadalajara include chain hotels and independent ones. One Jalisco hotel — Matices Hotel de Barricas — has guests comfortably overnight in guest units resembling large barrels used to age tequila, a reflection of the spirit that’s so important to the region.
Guadalajara is also near a town called Tequila, an epicentre of tequila production and which has been designated a Magical Town by the Mexican government. Magical Towns receive that label because they’re seen as being particularly attractive to tourists.
Tourists can also visit tequila distilleries in Jalisco, learning about its production.
Vargas also praised Guadalajara cuisine, saying it offers the “best flavours in all of Mexico.”
She also reported that a new highway linking Guadalajara with the popular coastal resort of Puerto Vallarta has reduced travelling time between the two locales to around three hours, enabling people staying in one of the cities to make day trips to the other.
Meanwhile, Flair interim CEO Maciej Wilk. said in a statement his airline’s Vancouver-Guadalajara flights have been a “huge success” and he’s upbeat about the Toronto service.“Guadalajara is one of the most vibrant and important cities in Mexico, and as Flair deepens our roots in Mexico, we are expanding our routes, too. We’re proud to be the only airline in Canada that flies non-stop to this incredible city.”
“We are excited and ready for the growth that this represents, and to this end, we have invested in the airport infrastructure necessary to provide the best travel experience to our passengers,” Martín Zazueta Chávez, director of Guadalajara International Airport, added.
Jalisco secretary of tourism Vanessa Perez Lamas also released a statement saying the latest Flair route will be a boost to state tourism.
“Toronto is home to many Jalisiences who have made Canada their new home but still want to be able to easily and affordably visit Guadalajara,”Perez Lamas said. “With nearly half a million Canadian visitors last year, Jalisco recognizes and welcomes the importance of Canada as an international market for our state. We’re sure that direct routes from two major Canadian cities, Vancouver and now Toronto, will only expand this market further.”
More information about Flair can be found at: www.flyflair.com, while added information about Guadalajara can be found at: visitagdl.com.
—IAN STALKER
