Nuevo Vallarta Is Now Nuevo Nayarit, but Not Everyone Is Happy MexicoNewsDaily.com | |
go to original June 26, 2022 |
One local welcome sign was changed from "Welcome to Nuevo Vallarta" to "Welcome to Nuevo Nayarit," shortly after the governor proposed the name change in January. (Vallarta Independiente)
Planning a trip to Nuevo Vallarta, the popular tourist development just north of Puerto Vallarta?
Not anymore you’re not.
The name of the tailored enclave — known for its luxury accommodations, golf courses, marina and long, sandy beach — was officially changed to Nuevo Nayarit in a vote this week by the local municipal council.
The new name makes sense to some, since the development is in the state of Nayarit, across the Río Ameca from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, and is the southernmost part of the 300-kilometer stretch of coastline that for 15 years has been branded as the Riviera Nayarit.
In fact, the governor of Nayarit, Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero, has been the No. 1 proponent of the renaming since he announced it out of left field in early January. “We are no longer determined to promote a municipality in the neighboring state, but rather our own municipalities and our own state,” he declared at the time.
Shortly thereafter, a huge sign welcoming people to the area was changed to “Bienvenidos a Nuevo Nayarit.”
But numerous business people, residents, property owners and members of the tourist industry and chamber of commerce are up in arms for a handful of reasons. Many, for example, like how the name Nuevo Vallarta created a marketable twinning with Puerto Vallarta.
Moreover, some accused the governor of strong-arming the mayor and members of the Bahía de Banderas municipal council into voting for the change.
The 14-member council of the municipality, which includes the newly-named Nuevo Nayarit, approved the new name at its June 21 meeting by simple majority.
That meeting turned into something of a circus, with opponents of the name change trying in vain to voice their opinions. After an hour of rigmarole and threats that the meeting would be suspended, a vote was finally taken. The newspaper Tribuna de la Bahía reported that opponents of the Nuevo Nayarit name confronted the municipal council for “not listening to them and changing the name of Nuevo Vallarta just by raising their hands.” At one point, the session was interrupted by citizens who wanted to present all of the economic and legal implications of the name change — so the council members could cast an informed vote.
Nuevo Vallarta has been sold as a tourist brand alongside Puerto Vallarta for nearly four decades. José Ludwig Estrada Virgen, a longtime but now retired tourism director for Puerto Vallarta, said he regretted the name change, as it will undermine joint promotion efforts and will have repercussions for the region.
Read the rest at MexicoNewsDaily.com
Related: A Marketing Mistake: Name Change of Nuevo Vallarta (Diario de Vallarta)
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From activities like hiking, swimming, bike riding and yoga, to restaurants offering healthy menus, Vallarta-Nayarit is the ideal place to continue - or start - your healthy lifestyle routine.