Cozumel Becomes American Express Preferred
Destination And Gears Up For First Golf Course

TravelGolf.com Staff Report

COZUMEL, Mexico (April 24, 2001) - For Isla Cozumel, the largest island in the Mexican Caribbean, 2001 will be a landmark year. Visitors will be able to secure value-added vacations when booking trips to Cozumel with their American Express® Cards from May 1 through June 30, 2001. The Cozumel Country Club & Golf Course will be opening this summer, ferry service has been streamlined and several hotel renovation and upgrade projects will continue around the island.

"We want our visitors to be able to choose from world-class accommodations, see remarkable historical sites, enjoy our white-sand beaches and marvel at the ecological wonders throughout the island," said Gaston Cantarell Diaz, president of the Isla Cozumel Hotel Association and private sector representative for the Cozumel Tourism Foundation, during the 26th Annual Tianguis Turistico, Mexico's largest trade show and marketplace for wholesalers, tour operators and travel agents from 40 countries. "By offering special privileges for an exclusive group of travelers, unveiling our first golf course, putting formal plans into place to protect our environment and showcasing new and upgraded hotels, we are making 2001 a monumental year for Cozumel."

American Express® Cardmembers will soon be able to take advantage of special values and benefits when booking vacations to Cozumel. American Express will be offering a $100 American Express® Gift Cheque, an offer for a fifth night free when booking four nights at participating hotels and a "vacation values" card for Cardmembers who book trips between May 1 and June 30 The actual vacation dates can fall anywhere between the dates of May 1 and Dec. 15, 2001. Mailers about the Cozumel preferred destination specials were sent to American Express Cardmembers on April 19.

Cozumel's first 18-hole championship golf course, along with the Cozumel Country Club clubhouse facility is slated for opening in summer 2001. The first nine holes will open in June and the second nine holes are slated to open in December.

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The Nicklaus Group-designed, 18-hole, 6,847 yard-par 72 golf course is being managed by Clubs Corporation of America and constructed by Diamond Golf International. The greens will consist of hybrid Bermuda turf and will feature a practice range and green. The clubhouse will include a fully stocked Pro shop with a full line of high-quality rental equipment and merchandise, snack bar and seating for 40 people. The Cozumel Country Club will incorporate the natural habitats of the island in its design and construction. Fairways will be built around Cozumel's trees, mangroves and wetlands to preserve ecologically sensitive areas.

Mexico's federal and state governments, along with the Cozumel private sector have partnered for the first time to preserve the environment and limit development, which is only ecologically friendly. The new "Plan de Ordenamiento Ecológico" (Plan of Ecological Order) will designate certain segmented areas of the island for development, permitted according to density by area.

Getting to and from Cozumel has never been easier and more efficient with the additions of two new passenger ferries that transport visitors from Playa Del Carmen to Cozumel. Cruceros Maritimos del Caribe has added the 400-person Mexico IV and 400-person Mexico V, to five other existing ferries that currently serve the island.

The island's newest hotel, the Occidental Cozumel Villages Hotel began construction in early 2001, with an investment of over $30 million. The property is scheduled to open in April 2002. The all-inclusive beachfront hotel will be located on the South side of the island, situated 500 yards from the existing Allegro Resort Cozumel and will feature 250 rooms, three restaurants, two swimming pools and a Jacuzzi.

Several hotel renovation projects continue around the island including the Paradisus Cozumel's $5.8 million upgrade program. Major renovations have taken place in the hotel's ocean-view suites and deluxe rooms. The restaurant has been refurbished to include additional seating and the lobby's interior has been uniquely re-designed. At the end of 2001, the hotel will be complete with a gym, renovated theater, a game room, Jacuzzi, new honeymoon suites with individual Jacuzzi's and private wooden decks.

El Cozumeleño's $10-million renovation program features 154 additional rooms in a new building, two new swimming pools, one is covered, and a recently-opened convention center with seating for up to 700 people. Fiesta Americana Dive Resort has recently remodeled all of their restaurants, including the 150-person, palapa-style Tropical Forest restaurant. Plaza Las Glorias has enhanced 160 suites, 12 duplex suites and two master suites. All refurbishments include new interior design and modernized amenities. La Ceiba Bea ch Resort has also remodeled their 113 rooms to include more efficient in-room amenities and attractive interior design.

Named "Cuzamil" by the Maya who inhabited it more than 2,000 years ago, Isla Cozumel or "land of the swallows" is located in the state of Quintana Roo, east of the Yucatan Peninsula. Cozumel, approximately 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, has an international snorkeling and diving reputation with the world's second-largest reef network featuring limestone caves, tunnels and rare black coral. Visit Cozumel on the World Wide Web at www.islacozumelcom.mx.