The Future of Manzanillo

General

Information and news about Manzanillo and surrounding areas

Living

Tips, suggestions, ideas, and concerns about living in Manzanillo

Photo Friday

Photo showcase of the best scenes in Manzanillo

Reviews

Reviews of restaurants, hotels, activities, and books

Tourism

Everything you want to, and need to know as a visitor in Manzanillo

Home » Featured, General

Submitted by Manzanillo Blogger on Monday, 5 January 200910 Comments

There is a lot of buzz in Manzanillo about the many changes currently happening. While in our last post on this subject we mentioned how this season was not the best for Manzanillo tourism, the future does look bright. In this article we are not even going to touch on the massive commercial Manzanillo port expansion program, or the new Manzanillo Liquid Natural Gas power plant going in (Although both of those are exciting in and of themselves).

There are many exciting changes in the works for Manzanillo.

The Massive Renovation Effort of the Downtown Centro Area.

Downtown Manzanillo Centro has been undergoing many upgrades and renovations over the past few years. As a result it has received a very nice face lift, but the changes are not over! There is much yet in store for this area. The coming changes include the expanded port that allows for two cruise ships to dock at a time right in the heart of Centro. No longer will the ships have to dock all the way out in the commercial Manzanillo port, but tourists will literally be able to walk off the boats and stroll right into Manzanillo proper. This will mean twice the tourists and twice the income for tourism in Manzanillo. As tourism, the port, and silver mining are Manzanillo's biggest income generators, this will be very good news.

Not only will more cruise ships be coming to Manzanillo soon, we will have our own cruise ship sailing out from the Manzanillo port. It will sail out on a regular schedule and provide lots of income for the area. We haven't uncovered many details yet for what company is going to be running the ship, where it will sail to, or how many voyages it will take a year, hopefully that is soon to come.

In addition to the expanded cruise port, there are a number of new Manzanillo resorts and hotels and shopping malls that will be constructed nearby that port. As you may have noticed from the pictures, the pier itself will have a shopping mall all the way down, and at the end where it meets land will be a large beautiful hotel and more high quality sights.

Manzanillo Airport Upgrade And Other Changes

There currently is a massive overhaul of the Manzanillo International Airport going on. This includes a bypass off the freeway and tripling the size of the runways. Somebody is apparently expecting a large influx of tourists soon!

Not to mention the major stores that keep popping up like Manzanillo's own Starbucks, Waldos, Office Depot, and even rumors of a Home Depot and Sam's Club. Manzanillo is looking like it will turn into a little Puerto Vallarta soon, although it is sure to keep it's laid back feel that makes this city special.

Future Enhancements

Manzanillo has many plans for how to develop the outlying regions of the city as well. Much of Manzanillo is slated to receive a face lift in the coming years. Part of that upgrade include some massive plans drawn up to develop the estuary at La Boquita into a luxury home, resort, and shopping center. It will be dredged out to provide for easy passage of small sail craft, and water sport vehicles, allowing residents to live right on the waterfront of the estuary.

The style from the pictures looks very much like classic Mexican architecture, giving it a quaint and peaceful feel. We aren't sure where the mangroves are going, but that will probably be a major consideration of this plan is ever enacted.

As one of our friends stated, this scale of construction would not be going on unless Manzanillo's tourism commission had it on very reliable authority that there will be a giant surge of visitors in the coming years.

So the future of Manzanillo tourism looks bright to say the least. Lots of changes are in store for this little city. Hopefully this article has been informative and entertaining. Let us know what we left out, knowledge is power! We leave you now with this video of the brand new beautiful dancing fountains (reminiscent of the Belagio fountains in Las Vegas) that can be found in downtown Centro.

10 Comments »

El zorro platiado said:

Very good article! Manzanillo has change much in the five years I’ve been here, and it appears more is to come. I just saw the sales office go up for new condo towers in Santiago near Playa Olas Altas. That is one of the last undeveloped parcels and it will be a huge project.

Thanks for your great reporting!

- 5 January 2009 at 1:01 pm

HolyMole said:

Very interesting perspectives, especially for those whose recent experiences have been in other areas of Mexico.
In Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, a coalition of local groups, with the strong support of most long-time tourists and gringo residents, waged a long, often bitter campaign with “the powers that be”, to successfully defeat, (or at least to postpone indefinitely) plans to construct a cruiseship pier in Zihua Bay. Those same groups are, in general, strongly opposed to construction of the kinds of mega-resorts and shopping malls that your correspondents apparently welcome.
I guess it comes down to different definitions of “progress”.

- 5 January 2009 at 4:44 pm

El zorro platiado said:

As a resident of Manzanillo I’ve been impressed with how the PTBs (powers that be) of Manzanillo have been controlling growth here. My sources have told me no one here wants to be the next PV. Manzanillo will always try to be a family destination.

For that attitude I applaud the PTBs. Look at the outstanding job being done to improve infrastructure in the many neighborhoods that are off the boulevard. Streets are being improved in far away neighborhoods. Utilities are being put underground.

Yes there is a Wal-Mart, but that was inevitable. I’m surprised there isn’t a Home Depot here already. We need one for all the construction going on! OfficeMax AND an Office Depot is a bit much. A Starbucks was necessary for the extrañjeros, and paisanos, that have money. Starbucks in Guadalajara are usually full, and not with extrañjeros!

Once the power plant has completed the transition to cleaner fuel, growth here will only increase. If the PTBs continue to put the Port first, tourism second, and mining third (or switch those), then there will be a way for our beloved Mexican friends to make a decent living for their families. That is what will contribute to keeping Manzanillo safe and stave off the violence afflicting other areas of the Republic.

Controlled sustainable growth and maintaining a family feel to Manzanillo, while preserving the beautiful Mexican culture, is attainable with proper planning and execution.

[Stepping off my soap box now...]

- 5 January 2009 at 5:42 pm

Tiffani said:

Well said Zorro Platiado. Well said.

- 5 January 2009 at 9:39 pm

crazy4manzanillo said:

i’m still surprised that there’s not yet a single mcdonald’s around here, although i bet it’ll come here soon with higher prices than guadalajara’s.

- 8 January 2009 at 12:14 am

El zorro platiado said:

But when the Big Mac is 20 pesos, as it frequently is in Guadalajara, at 13.40 pesos to the dollar it is $1.49. Comparable to the U.S. and a whole lot closer.

I (selfishly) look forward to a McD’s in Manzanillo. It won’t do anything good for the obesity problem, but it tastes SOOO good.

- 8 January 2009 at 7:09 am

Andrew Burton said:

First they need to clean up all the trash. And that does mean all the trash and dead fish (the skeletons of filleted dorado and sailfish) floating in the ocean. Hardly conducive to tourism.

- 8 January 2009 at 9:00 pm

Bobm said:

I agree with El Zorro. I like progress, but we need to raise all boats with a tide of growth. There also seems to be a good balance of road improvements and people/pedestrian improvements. Has anyone considered some water taxi options along the beaches? It would be a lot more fun hopping between Mira Mar, Santiago, Audiencia, las Brisas and Centro by boat than the dusty bus around the lagona and port.

- 9 January 2009 at 6:52 pm

crazy4manzanillo said:

andrew, i would also like to add more to the beach topic by saying that they need more trash cans there was well, it’s usually dirty on “temporadas altas.” perhaps they need a lil’ more presentation to attract more tourists and locals alike. sometimes on tv i see prettier beaches, and its sad to see that it isn’t always the case in mzo.

as for the fast food scene, i’m starting to wonder if it was necessary in manzanillo to begin with. you can get more for your buck by eating tortas, sopes (and other local goods) for half the price (plus it usaully contains less fat compared to fast food). as for burgers, i can get some good warm home made style burgers at local restaurants vs bk’s cold and very expensive (by local standards, and compared to mcdonald’s) style burger.

anyhow, back to the topic, i think that the new improvements that manzanillo centro are going to receive is very positive overall.

- 9 January 2009 at 11:21 pm

peddler665 said:

The Power planet conversion is fabulous news. About the only thing about Manzanillo we disliked.
Not sure about the other things. Lets do screw this up like PV or what the are now doing to Zihuatanejo.

- 10 February 2009 at 1:26 pm