Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - On October 14, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of the Navy, officially announced the Regata Copa Mexico Olympic Edition, which will take place in Riviera Nayarit March 2-18, 2012. The event is expected to include the participation of over 2,500 competitors from 26 countries, which will compete in seven different categories.

"The organization of high-endurance sports events allows us to reach a key niche market to attract tourism to Riviera Nayarit. In 2010, the event resulted in a high number of visiting competitors from 20 countries, and provided the necessary conditions to promote our destination and to generate economic benefits for the local people. In 2012, we're expecting these benefits to be even greater," stated Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) President, Fernando González Ortega.

The Regata Copa México Olympic Edition has the objective of promoting the natural beauty and the infrastructure of the Mexican coast, in order to increase tourism in our country, by reactivating the economy and supporting sailing. The Federal Tourism Secretariat, the Government of Nayarit, the Mexican Sailing Federation, and the CVB of Riviera Nayarit will also support the event.

The participating categories of the Regata Copa Mexico will be Mexorc (Oceánicas), J24, Windsurf, Kitesurf, Laser, 420, and Optimist, the latter assembling a number of young competitors between 6 and 14 years old.

These competitions will be framed by the Nautical Extravaganza, which will take place next March in Riviera Nayarit, as will at least another three major nautical events scheduled to take place here: The Vallarta Race, a competition between San Diego and Punta Mita from March 1 to 10; the International Bahía de Banderas Regatta, which will be hosted by the Vallarta Yacht Club of Nuevo Vallarta March 20 to 24, and the Punta Sayulita Longboard & SUP Classic, which will assemble the best international surfers between March 9 and 11.

"By promoting the touristic development of our State, we've found the historic opportunity to begin building a new destination for the people of Nayarit, as the marketing efforts being made by the Riviera Nayarit CVB follow the objectives defined by the State Governor, Roberto Sandoval, which is to work for the local people," concluded González Ortega.

2012 Copa Mexico Olympic Edition Calendar of Events

J24: March 2-9
Windsurf: March 7-10
Kitesurf: March 10-18
Mexorc: March 11-17
420: March 12-14
Láser: March 16-18
Optimist: March 16-18