Best Island Award, New Ecological Park, New Flight and More Give Cozumel Competitive Edge for Year 2000 Success.

CANCUN, Mexico--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 1999--

Cozumel, the largest island in the Mexican Caribbean, is getting even bigger in terms of recognition, growth, diversity and the overall number of travelers targeted for the year 2000.

The announcement of a series of successes and strategies was made during The 1999 Mexican Caribbean Travel Mart, formerly known as Cancun Travel Mart and now revamped to feature extensive participation from tourism partners throughout the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

"We are extremely proud to have been named the number one island in Mexico, Central and South America by the readers of Travel & Leisure Magazine in their September 1999 issue," said Gaston Cantarell Diaz, president of the Isla Cozumel Hotel Association and private sector representative for the tourism foundation. "We are thrilled that people continue to recognize and prefer Cozumel's unique riches of nature, culture and history."

Cozumel's natural and cultural aspects are ever so present in the island's newest ecological attraction, Punta Sur. The park and nature preserve, which opened in August this year, encompasses 247 acres of mangrove jungles, white sand beaches, reef formations and wildlife in the Colombia lagoon region. Cozumel's Foundation of Parks and Museums began ecological studies for the creation of Punta Sur back in July 1997 and has invested $1.5 million in the park.

Punta Sur has an education center where visitors can watch a 20-minute video and learn more about the different ecosystems, environments and native birds, turtles, alligators, fish and coral of the park. At the center, visitors can rent electric bikes, starting at $5 an hour, or electric club cars, starting at $10 an hours, to explore on their own.

The park also features Mayan ruin replicas, information on Mayan signaling for maritime navigation and an observation tower providing views of the surrounding park and ocean. Other amenities include a snack bar, recreation area with a beach, kayaks, palapa umbrellas for shade, volleyball nets and a restaurant. In December, two additional observation towers will open, as well as a snorkeling center to observe fish and turtles. Park admission is $7 per person. Children age 8 and younger do not pay an admission fee. Visitors should plan to spend a minimum of five hours to completely experience Punta Sur.

On Saturday, Sept. 25, 1999, construction began on the Cozumel Country Club. When completed in December 2000, the country club will include the island's first 18-hole golf course. Clubs Corporation of America, one of the largest golf ownership and management companies in the world, and Gonzalez Angulo Group are funding the project. The total investment is estimated at $200 million.

Phase one of the project includes an investment of $10 million dollars and construction of the clubhouse, botanical gardens, access roads, and a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course. The Cozumel Country Club will incorporate the natural habitats of the island in the design and construction. Fairways will be built around and preserve Cozumel's trees, mangroves and wet areas.

In addition to on-island educational facilities such as Punta Sur, Cozumel is also planning a series of educational programs for wholesalers, tour operators and airlines in the U.S. between October and December this year. "We will be partnering with Destination Ventures to conduct Cozumel seminars for travel industry partners in 15 different U.S. cities in the East, Midwest and West," Cantarell explained. "It's an important responsibility and opportunity to update them on how we are meeting the needs of our visitors in new, diversified ways."

Another of those ways, according to Cantarell, is bringing in more visitors on more flights. Starting Dec. 18, Continental Airlines will begin offering weekly flights, each Saturday, direct from Newark to Cozumel. "We are expecting this to be a huge success for more convenient air service," he said. "Right now it is scheduled to operate through the end of June on a trial basis. Our hope, of course, is that it will continue on well after that."

And finally, having more rooms for more visitors has been in the works for over a year. Casa Mexicana, a 90-room oceanfront business hotel, located downtown, will open in mid December. The property will feature a business center with translation, secretarial, airline ticket confirmation services; a concierge desk with car rental, tour and diving arrangement services; room keys to be used for all on-site charging privileges, in-room internet access, an outdoor swimming pool and gymnasium with free weights and exercise bikes.

Also to be ready in December are all 300 rooms of the new Iberostar Hotel All-Inclusive Resort on the south end of Cozumel, in front of the Paso Del Cedral wall. Preliminary plans are underway for other hotel projects in the south of the island for the years 2000 and 2001.

Several hotel renovation projects continue around the island including El Cozumeleno All-Inclusive Beach Resort and Playa Azul Hotel. El Cozumeleno's $10-million renovation program featuring 154 additional rooms in a new building, two new swimming pools, one which is covered, and meeting room for up to 500 people will all be complete by November 16, 1999. Playa Azul's refurbishments, valued at $1 million and featuring the complete renovation of 14 rooms, construction of 27 completely new rooms, new swimming pool, new paddle tennis court and new dive shop at the entrance, will be all completed by February 2000.

Named "Cuzamil" by the Mayans who inhabited it more than 2,000 years ago, Cozumel or "land of the swallows" is approximately 30 miles long and 10 miles wide. Located east of the Yucatan Peninsula, Cozumel has an international snorkeling and diving reputation with the world's second-largest reef network featuring limestone caves, tunnels and rare black coral.

Cozumel also boasts the historic ruins of San Gervasio, built as a sanctuary for the fertility goddess, Ixchel, Chankanaab Lagoon nature preserve, created to protect Cozumel's ecologically sensitive regions, and an array of picturesque east and west coast beaches. Visit Cozumel on the World Wide Web at www.islacozumel.com.mx.

For more information, contact Kathy Hernandez or Kim Carr at YP&B, [phone].