The Mexican resort city of Cancun was sleepy countryside before a building boom in the 1970s.  Things got interesting when the Mexican government made the decision to create a resort that would appeal to international tourists.  They would start the development project and offer travel deals to entice visitors; it worked.

Now, less than 40 years later there are well over 100 hotels along a several-mile stretch called the Hotel Zone.  The town is now a major city with an urban downtown, major shopping areas and world-class dining.  This is a good time to look for Cancun travel deals because the slow economy requires the hotels to be very competitive.

I will point out that the whole region can become very hot and humid in the summer months.  Next time I go, I’ll look hard at planning the trip for the months between late Fall and Spring.

If you know of somebody who is getting married or graduating, you might consider giving them one or more travel gift vouchers that can be redeemed to cover part of the costs for a vacation.  If you buy the right voucher, you can pay in advance for certain airfares or hotel costs, car rentals and admission prices to theme parks and museums.

The use of a travel gift voucher seems to be somewhat more popular in Europe than in the U.S.  You must be careful to buy a gift card that is useful and flexible, so they are not for everybody.