Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The Riviera Nayarit is set to open two big new convention centers this year that will aim to grow the destination's meetings and events scene. The Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta Convention Center will open in April and the Bel Air Unique Resort & Convention Center Vallarta in Flamingos is scheduled to open in June.

The Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta Convention Center will offer four main ballrooms with over 32,290 square feet of space with capacity for up to 2,400 people. On each side of the ballrooms, additional foyer areas will provide 14,316 square feet of space and four small meeting rooms. The property also has a Sanctuario Ballroom with 75,347 square feet.

Its Grand Mayan Playa has the largest space in the development, according to the Riviera Nayarit Convention and Visitors Bureau, with capacity for up to 3,000 attendees in a cocktail setting.

Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta also has five resort hotels with over 2,200 guest rooms; two golf courses, one designed by Jack Nicklaus and the other by Greg Norman; 20 restaurants and 18 bars/lounges; 27 pools, one mile beach and Aqua Park with a Lazy River; luxury spas; and boutiques. Nightlife options will expand with the inauguration of Cirque du Soleil at the resort in 2018.

Bel Air Unique, in the nearby Flamingos area, is inaugurating the Bel Air Convention Center in June, which will host up to 3,600 people simultaneously in its 33,906 square feet of indoor and outdoor convention spaces, making it the largest in Riviera Nayarit.

The Grand Salon Bucerías will be the largest ballroom with over 15,000 square feet, accommodating up to 1,600 people. This ballroom can also be divided into up to six smaller rooms. The Convention Center will also have a foyer with over 8,000 square feet of space for up to 860 people.

The two outdoor spaces are the Las Tortugas Garden with over 8,000 square feet of space for up to 860 guests and Playa de Chacala with 2,690 square feet of space for 280 attendees. All of these spaces can be arranged in auditorium, classroom, banquet or reception formats.

Bel Air Unique has also completed an extensive renovation and expansion of the resort, increasing the number of rooms from 215 to 419, adding five pools and expanding the number of restaurants from two to six.

Riviera Nayarit also has an array of activities to augment an incentive program, spouse programs and pre/post-convention tours, as well as venues for gala events. These activities include: a sunset cruise, visit to a sanctuary island with a hidden beach, indigenous Huichol culture experiences, golf tournaments, surfing or SUP classes, horseback riding on the beach, polo, chef demos of local cuisine, spa days and deep sea fishing, among others.

To learn about other important meeting and event spaces in Riviera Nayarit, read the full article on internationalmeetingsreview.com.